Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with police forces on steps to tackle cannabis cultivation across the UK.

We work closely with the police to support the policing of illegal cannabis cultivation and meet them on a regular basis to discuss this issue.

We have, for example, recently worked in partnership with the police and Crimestoppers on a ‘scratch and sniff’ cannabis card campaign, which ran for one month earlier this year. This involved distributing cards to the public to
inform them about the signs to spot and the specific smell of cannabis when it is growing and encourage them to alert the police to suspicious activity. Hot spot areas were targeted by police forces throughout the UK. We are currently
working with the police to asses the effectiveness of the campaign but initial reports suggest that this has led to an increase in police activity and built on the success of last year’s campaign.

The police also work to improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

As well as working with the police, we work with other partners with an interest in this area, such as energy companies and the property sector, to promote cooperation and the sharing of best practice in tackling cannabis cultivation across the UK.