Oral Answers to Questions

Jack Brereton Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise his concerns. He has raised the issue of crime and the implications of disorder for his local community, and he is right. I can confirm that his police force has recruited 72 additional police officers, and of course that number is going to go up and up in line with our commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend agree to consider the reclassification of psychoactive substances such as Monkey Dust that have had such a damaging effect on lives and communities in Stoke-on-Trent?

[Priti Patel]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point to and highlight the devastating impact of drugs such as Monkey Dust. I have visited his constituents in the past and we discussed these issues. The Government absolutely recognise the corrosive harm that these drugs do. Of course, there are penalties for supplying these drugs—penalties of up to 14 years in prison and unlimited fines. At this moment, we are keeping drug classification under review, and of course we do that taking into account all the harms and the impact of these drugs on individuals and our communities.