§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers currently seconded to the National Criminal Intelligence Service will be transferred to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. [166602]
§ Caroline FlintStaffing levels in the Serious Organised Crime Agency will be determined by the operational outcomes it is funded to deliver; no decisions have yet been taken on the requirements for particular groups of staff, but the overall objective is to enhance the effectiveness of our response to serious organised crime.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what role the Serious Organised Crime Agency will have in(a) drugs enforcement and (b) drugs policy; [166103]
(2) what former HM Customs and Excise function he expects the Serious Organised Crime Agency to undertake; [166104]
(3) how many personnel involved in (a) drug enforcement and (b) drugs policy he expects to be transferred from HM Customs and Excise to the Serious Organised Crime Agency; [166105]
(4) how many personnel he expects to work on (a) drugs enforcement and (b) drugs policy in the Serious Organised Crime Agency. [166106]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 19 April 2004]: Proposals for the Serious Organised Crime Agency were set out in the white paper "One Step Ahead: A 21st century strategy to defeat organised crime" (CM6167), published on 29 March. A project team is now working on the detailed arrangements, but it is not intended that the new agency will have responsibility for drugs policy.