Drug Driving (Assessment of Drug Misuse) Bill

David Nuttall Excerpts

Friday 18th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans]

That is a very good question. The Bill covers drugs that are usually associated with criminality—the class A drugs. Cannabis is not necessarily associated with criminality in the same way.

The Bill gives the police the power to require a person under investigation for drug-driving offences and who has provided a sample that has tested positive for the specified class A drugs to attend an initial and a follow-up drugs assessment. That will apply to the existing drug-driving offences in the Road Traffic Act 1988, as well as the new offence recently introduced in the 2013 Act. The Bill would not interfere with any other police processes in investigating the offences or the circumstances of a road collision, or in gathering evidence for a possible prosecution of drug-driving.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech to introduce his Bill. In view of the importance of this matter—and it seems that he has identified a bizarre anomaly—does he think that it would have been preferable for this loophole to have been plugged in the 2013 Act?

[Graham Evans]

That is a very good question, but I must say, hand on heart, that I do not have the answer. I do not know why the substance of my Bill was not included in the Act, but I hope that my Bill will close the loophole.

After an incident, a suspect may be taken to a police station and a blood or urine sample taken to test for the presence of illegal drugs that may have contributed to what happened. The provisions in the Bill would come into effect when the offender had the sample taken. The offender would be asked to consent to the sample being used for the potential purpose of requiring them to attend an assessment for drug misuse. If the sample tested positive for class A drugs—heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine—the offender could be required to attend up to two assessments with a drug worker. It is already an offence to refuse to give a sample when required to do so. The purpose of the assessment is to assess a person’s dependence on drugs or propensity to misuse drugs and whether they might benefit from treatment or other support services. These can then be provided through existing local partnerships. Assessments can, if deemed appropriate by the qualified health professional carrying out the assessment, lead to treatment and a care plan.

We are not, however, mandating treatment. It will be for the individual, working with their drug worker during the assessment, to determine what course of action might work best for them. That means that decisions about the best course of action following assessment properly will lie with the professional health worker, who will have the best view of the local resources and services available.

Failure to attend the required assessment, or leaving part way through, is an offence under the Drugs Act 2005, and the Bill would extend that to drug-drivers. In making attendance mandatory, the Bill parallels the current legislation that enables the police to use a positive drugs test result to bring into play a number of semi-coercive measures, including attending a drugs assessment. The element of compulsion allows the police to engage far greater numbers than on a solely voluntary basis.

This is a simple and straightforward Bill with only five clauses. If I may, I will briefly set out what each clause will do. Clause 1 would insert proposed new sections 11A to 11C into part 3 of the 2005 Act to enable the police to require a person, who in the course of an investigation into drug-driving offences has given a blood or urine sample that reveals the presence of a specified class A drug, to attend up to two assessments with a drug worker.

New section 11A sets out the conditions that would have to be met for a person to be referred for an initial assessment. A person will have provided a blood or urine sample as part of an investigation of an offence under section 3A, 4 or 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs, or driving with the concentration of a specified drug above the specified limit. Analysis of the sample must have tested positive for a specified class A drug—heroin, cocaine or crack cocaine. The person must also be aged 18 or over. New subsection 11A(2) would enable a police officer to require that they attend an initial assessment and remain for its duration. New subsection 11A(3) would allow the Home Secretary to change the minimum age.

New section 11B sets out the conditions that would need to be met for the person to be required to attend the follow-up assessment. These are that a police officer has required a person to attend an initial assessment and remain for its duration, and that the person is aged 18 or over. New subsection 11B(2) says that, when requiring a person to attend an initial assessment, the police officer must also require that person to attend a follow-up assessment and remain for its duration. New subsection 11B(3) would allow the Home Secretary to change the minimum age. If, after the initial assessment, the drug worker decides a follow-up assessment is not needed, the person will be informed that they are not required to attend the second session.

New section 11C sets out how the arrangements for attendance at initial and follow-up assessments would be made. The notice of requirement must be made in writing, but it is up to local areas to agree with the person concerned exactly how they will communicate with them. The notice must contain information about the time and place of the initial assessment, the requirement to attend and remain at a follow-up assessment, and a warning that a failure to attend or remain at the initial and follow-up assessments without good cause means that the person is liable to prosecution. New subsection 11C(3) would enable a police officer, or other suitably qualified person, to give a person a further written notice informing them of any change in the time or place of the initial assessment, and repeat the warning that a failure to attend or remain at the assessments without good cause means that the person is liable to prosecution. New subsection 11C(4) would require the person to be given at least 14 days notice of the date, time and place of the assessment. This recognises that the person may live some distance away and in a different police force area from where the traffic offence was committed.

Clause 2 makes a number of consequential amendments to the Drugs Act. The main provisions are in subsection 7, which amends section 16 of the Act, meaning that the requirement to attend either an initial or follow-up assessment is cancelled if a subsequent re-analysis of the sample arranged by a police officer does not reveal the presence of a specified class A drug. Clause 2(8) amends section 17, cancelling the requirement to attend either the initial or follow-up assessment when a person has been charged with an offence under section 3A, 4 or 5A of the 1988 Act, and a court has made a drugs assessment a condition of bail.

Clause 3 makes consequential amendments to section 3 of, and schedule 1 to, the Bail Act 1976, which require a court granting bail to impose as a condition of bail the requirement that the person attend an initial and follow-up assessment with a drug worker, as long as they consent. The court cannot grant bail if someone does not agree to participate in an assessment unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk that they will commit an offence while on bail. Clauses 4 and 5 are self-explanatory.

I am pleased to say that I have support from across the Government for the Bill. The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr Goodwill), has provided the following statement:

“I am very pleased to see that the Honourable Member is taking this important Bill through the House. The Government has just completed the consultation on its proposals to the drugs and the limits to be specified in regulations, which we intend to bring before the House next year. We are currently analysing the responses and will publish our analysis in due course. The Government's aim is to take a zero tolerance approach to illegal drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, to send the strongest possible message that you cannot take illegal drugs and drive. We firmly believe this will also act as a strong deterrent to those thinking about taking illegal drugs and thus have a positive impact on road safety as well as potentially contributing to the Government's overall drug strategy. A part of that strategy is to get drug misusers into treatment and support services to enable them to address their drug dependency. Being able to require drug drivers on Class A drugs to attend a drug assessment will be a valuable contribution to tackling drug misuse. Drug driving may be the first offence of someone who could be at the beginning of a lifetime of misery for them, their families and their communities, so tackling it early and at this added opportunity will play an important part in reducing the effects of Class A drugs in our society. I therefore fully support this Bill and recommend that the House does too.”

The benefits of the Bill are clear: it would close a loophole in current legislation and strengthen the hand of the police against drug-driving, while maintaining the important role of locally led and delivered drug services. I recently visited Vale Royal day services in Northwich, a facility in my constituency, which works with Cheshire and Wirral NHS partnership and Turning Point. Speaking to individuals tackling substance abuse and learning about the support network in Cheshire showed very clearly that these services are extremely effective and important for every community. They really can save lives.

In conclusion, the Bill would provide the police with an additional tool to bring in a group of people for assessment and potentially for treatment for their drug addiction who might not otherwise have accessed drug services. It would make the roads safer by helping to reduce the number of people driving under the influence of class A drugs and would build on the success of existing tools and interventions aimed at getting people off drugs in the longer term, while being independent of any criminal prosecution. I hope Members will agree that this is a sensible, practical and proportionate measure entirely in line with existing drugs policy and current practice. I therefore commend the Bill to the House and open it up to debate.