Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) independence, (b) integrity and (c) expertise of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

The independence of the ACMD is essential to making recommendations on the control of dangerous or otherwise harmful drugs. The ACMD’s integrity is maintained by a joint working protocol between Ministers and the Committee which governs the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the ACMD and those to whom it delivers advice. As part of this the Minister for Policing and Crime, routinely reviews ACMD advice and recommendations.

In 2024 the Home Office’s Chief Scientific Adviser initiated a review which examined and made recommendations on how the department commissions, uses and feeds back on advice from its Science Advisory Councils.

The adequacy of ACMD’s advice is assured through maintenance of a committee with comprehensive expertise. ACMD appointments are regulated by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments and are subject to the principles laid out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Membership is refreshed through regular rounds of recruitment including for a new chair appointed in 2025. Recruitment processes seek to ensure the widest possible pool of candidates are considered for roles. In accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments process, members are recruited through free and open competition and appointed following Ministerial approval.