Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle organised drug-dealing.

The Government does not tolerate illicit drugs and recognises the harms they cause including drug-related crime. We are taking a whole-system approach to deliver safer streets and address drug-related crime in our communities.

We work closely with police forces and other operational partners to deliver a robust law enforcement response. Powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 enable police forces and local authorities to combat antisocial behaviour linked to drug use and dealing and to protect communities.

Tackling organised drug-dealing remains a priority. County Lines are the most violent and exploitative model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs and disrupting the organised crime groups behind them. Since July 2024, activity through the Programme has resulted in more than 3,700 deal lines closed, over 10,100 arrests (including more than 2,100 deal line holders charged), 5,400 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 1,200 knives seized. The Home Office is providing more than £34 million in funding for the County Lines Programme in 2026–27 to sustain its progress.

Drug use drives wider offending, with nearly half of acquisitive crime linked to drugs. Drug Testing on Arrest is a key tool to identify illicit drug users and support behaviour change and reduce future offending. Through the Crime and Policing Act 2026, we are expanding testing powers to cover further offences and a wider range of drugs.