Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress the Joint Combating Drugs Unit has made; and what policy work relating to combating drugs she is currently undertaking with other departments.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Joint Combating Drugs Unit (JCDU) continues to work closely with departments to ensure we take a coordinated, whole-system approach to tackling drugs and drug-related harms.
JCDU maintains strong cross-system governance at national level, supported by work to further develop the national outcomes framework. At a local level, the unit continues to work with Combating Drugs Partnerships (CDPs) to support a joined-up approach to delivery, and recently published an independent evaluation which found that CDPs have strengthened multi-agency working with strong leadership and clear governance key to success (www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-combating-drugs-partnerships/process-evaluation-of-combating-drugs-partnerships). The JCDU is also supporting Dame Carol Black, the Independent Advisor to Government on drugs, on a programme of expert-led work to improve our understanding of system challenges, as well as engaging with international partners to share information and best practice.
Alongside this, the Government continues to make progress on a range of department-led work to prevent drug use, improve treatment and recovery support, and support enforcement partners to tackle drug supply. This includes record numbers engaging with drug and alcohol treatment, wider access to life-saving naloxone, and increased drug seizures and county lines closures.
Tackling these issues is central to delivering the Government’s missions to make our streets safer, improve health, widen opportunity and support growth.
Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legislation addressing coercive and controlling behaviour in respect of capturing patterns of such behaviour occurring within groups, organisations or closed communities.
Answered by Natalie Fleet
We know that controlling and coercive behaviour (CCB) is a particularly insidious form of abuse and recognise the long-term emotional and psychological distress it can cause.
Controlling or coercive behaviour is an offence in the Serious Crime Act (2015). The statutory definition of domestic abuse, contained within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, explicitly recognises controlling or coercive behaviour as a form of domestic abuse. The Act extended the coercive or controlling behaviour offence to ex-partners and families who do not live together. This offers protection to victims who are experiencing CCB from a family member they do not live with or post-separation abuse from an ex-partner.
The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduced a statutory definition of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA). Once in force, this will explicitly recognise that controlling or coercive behaviour can take place within a HBA context. The definition stipulates that the perpetrator(s) and the victim must be known to one another in person. This includes those that are personally connected but also wider community members who might be perpetrating the abuse.
The government has set out our view on the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, including CCB, in “Domestic Abuse Act 2021: post-legislative scrutiny”, which is published on Gov.UK.
Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she can list the (a) Ministerial responsibilities and (b) the responsibilities and reporting arrangements of any relevant cross-departmental units in relation to drugs policy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Joint Combating Drugs Unit (JCDU) is responsible for driving and co-ordinating efforts across Government to tackle drugs, working in close partnership with six departments – the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Education. JCDU comprises full-time civil servants who are seconded from key government departments.
Each department is responsible for delivery of their programmes and projects. Progress is overseen by the lead departmental ministers but also reported to me as the lead drugs Minister, while a lead Permanent Secretary fulfils the role of senior responsible owner at official level.
Illicit drug use affects the whole of society, and this Government is taking a collective response to deliver safer streets, improve health outcomes and contribute to opportunities and growth through reducing crime and saving lives.
Asked by: Lewis Atkinson (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of funding of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) receives core funding from the Home Office.
In 2025/26 HMICFRS is receiving £28m to enable it to carry out its statutory functions. Additional in-year funding is provided if there is a requirement for extra inspections that are commissioned and are not part of the agreed inspection programme.
As part of Home Office’s work to allocate its Spending Review settlement for the period 2026/27 to 2028/29 work has been undertaken to assess the required level of funding allocated to all areas of Home Office activity including HMICFRS.