Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to increase funding to support the police in undertaking work on (a) drug prevention and (b) tackling the rate of drugs-related criminal activity.

Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. This Government is determined to tackle this threat and on 6 December published a ten-year Strategy to combat illicit drugs. The Strategy sets out our whole system approach, to cut off the supply of drugs by criminal gangs, give people with a drug dependence a route to a productive and drug-free life, and reduce the so-called ‘recreational’ use of drugs.

Underpinned by significant investment, we have set out our ambition to reduce drug-related crimes, deaths, harms and overall drug use.

We are investing £25m to build a strong evidence base on what works in reducing the demand for drugs among the wider population. This aims to prevent drug use by ensuring people understand the harms associated with illicit drug use, and that individuals face meaningful consequences if they do use drugs. We recognise that one of the most effective approaches to reducing demand is through building the resilience of young people so that they are better able to avoid being drawn into drug use or other risky behaviours. We are taking action to prevent the onset of drug use among children and young people through early intervention to support at-risk groups and investing in research to build the evidence base in this area.

Through our Drugs Strategy we are also delivering a robust and innovative ‘attack plan’ which targets every phase of the drugs supply chain. The Home Office is dedicating £300m over the next three years to support the police, and other partners on tackling drugs supply. This includes investing up to £145m to bolster our County Lines Programme and tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen.

The strategy is on the gov.uk page and can be found here From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)