HC Deb 10 April 2002 vol 383 cc346-7W
Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the PSA target to increase by 10 per cent. the number of offenders dealt with for supply offences in respect of Class A drugs was met. [47403]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

[holding answer 9 April 2002]:Data on seizures and offenders is published annually in the Home Office statistical bulletin: "Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom". Figures are by calendar year. Data for the year 1999 by comparison to 1998 were published in 2001.

This data show that the number of persons dealt with for supply offences (possession with intent to supply unlawfully, unlawful supply and import/export) involving class A drugs rose by 17.5 per cent. between 1998 and 1999, well above the target of 10 per cent. In fact subsequent data received by the Home Office after publication of the statistics, indicates that the increase was greater still—around 19.8 per cent. These revised figures will be published in the next edition of the bulletin for the year 2000 which will be published shortly.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target for the rate of positive results from mandatory random drugs tests will be met by March. [47223]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

The Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) target set following Spending Review 2000 was to reduce the rate of positive results from random mandatory drug tests (MDT) from 20 per cent. in 1998–99 to 10 per cent. by 31 March 2004.

MDT data are collected and reported monthly. The interim target set for achievement by 31 March 2002 was a rate of positive results of 12 per cent. The latest available year to date figures run to the end of February 2002 and show a positive rate of 11.5 per cent. Data for the last three months are provisional.

The target that the Prison Service has been set for achievement by 31 March 2003 is a rate of positive results of 10 per cent. or lower, which brings forward the SDA target by one year.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target of a reduction of three percentage points in the proportion of arrestees testing positive for heroin and/or cocaine/crack will be met by December. [47402]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

The commitment "to achieve a reduction of three percentage points in the proportion of arrestees testing positive for heroin and/or cocaine/crack from the 1999–2000 half-baseline" is a drugs strategy target for 2002 under the Communities objective, as set out in the United Kingdom Anti-drugs Co-ordinator's Second National Plan.

Information on progress against this target, derived from data from the New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme, will not be available until the autumn of 2002.

The target contributes, with other measures, towards delivery of the current Public Service Agreement (PSA) target "to reduce levels of repeat offending among drug misusing offenders by 25 per cent. by 2005 (and by 50 per cent. by 2008)".

We are currently reviewing the drugs strategy targets and progress on them, to ensure we still have the right balance and focus.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the PSA target to increase class A drugs prevented and seized by 10 per cent. has been met. [47235]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

Data on seizures and offenders is published annually in the Home Office statistical bulletin: "Drug Seizure and Offender Statistics, United Kingdom". Figures are by calendar year. Data for the year 1999 by comparison to 1998 were published in 2001.

The data published in 2001 showed that the number of seizures within the United Kingdom involving class A drugs increased by 4.3 per cent. in 1999, against the target set of 10 per cent. However, subsequent data received by the Home Office after publication indicated that the number of seizures within the United Kingdom involving class A drugs had in fact increased by 7.3 per cent. This revised figure will be published in the next edition of the bulletin for the year 2000, which will be published shortly.

Mr. Bercow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of whether the PSA target that all police services should operate face-to-face referral schemes covering all custody suites will be met by March. [47401]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

Face-to-face arrest referral schemes were operating in 41 out of 43 police forces as at end February with an estimated 95 per cent. coverage of custody suites by arrest referral workers. These were funded by the Crime Reduction Programme, under the Joint Funding Initiative. All forces will be operating face-to-face arrest referral schemes by the end of April 2002.