§ Lord Stoddart of Swindonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the nature and extent of any relationship between government departments and DrugScope; and what influence, if any, DrugScope has on policy formation. [HL2373]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)DrugScope was established in 2000 as a voluntary sector organisation working in the drugs field. As a stakeholder in the drugs strategy, DrugScope helps to set performance measures by which the success of the strategy is assessed.
Central government departments have committed a total of £988,000 to DrugScope in 2003–04. DrugScope has been funded for a range of work by the Department of Health, the Home Office, the Department for Education and Skills and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This includes a grant for the Information and Library Service, organisation of the National Conference on Young People and Substance Misuse and a grant to support drug education for drug-using parents.