Khat

James Brokenshire Excerpts

Wednesday 11th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (James Brokenshire)]

This has been an interesting and impassioned debate, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my hon. Friend the Member for Milton Keynes North (Mark Lancaster) for continuing to raise this issue. I am mindful that this is the second debate he has secured, having previously spoken on the same topic in a pre-summer recess debate last year. He represents well and effectively his constituency and these particular parts of the community in it by seeking to draw attention to this issue this evening.

My hon. Friend said that there was some kind of formal commitment and he drew attention to statements of shadow Ministers in the Opposition prior to the last general election. I would say to him, however, that there was no specific manifesto commitment and no provision was made in the coalition programme for government for the classification of khat. I would like to assure my hon. Friend, the community he represents and other communities and interested parties that the Government are concerned about this serious issue. It is a matter we want to investigate properly and effectively by closely examining the problems highlighted this evening; we do not want to kick this into the long grass.

We have heard today about real public concerns over health issues—sleep deprivation, loss of appetite, oral hygiene and mental health—and particularly about the social harms associated with the use of khat. Although its use has a cultural context and can be socially accepted among Somali, Yemeni, Ethiopian and Kenyan communities in the UK, many concerns have been raised within these communities. Higher prevalence of khat use among them and its potential for misuse might well disproportionately affect the social cohesion around khat users and their families, as well as their quality of life within wider UK society. We need fully and properly to understand this dimension.

Under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Government are required to look to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to provide advice on drug-related issues, including on the case for control based on available evidence at the time of its consideration.

As my hon. Friend knows, the ACMD last formally considered the misuse of khat in 2005, when it advised against bringing the plant under the control of the 1971 Act and made recommendations for health and prevention approaches responding to local community needs, which the last Government accepted. In the light of those 2005 recommendations, the handling of khat-related issues has focused on the tailoring of health and education responses to local community needs, such as the availability of appropriate drug prevention materials and information to raise awareness among practitioners and khat-using communities.

[Mark Lancaster]

Will my hon. Friend confirm that the Government are under no obligation to follow the ACMD’s advice? The last Government did not do so when it came to the reclassification of cannabis.

[James Brokenshire]

The Government will consider the evidence and recommendations supplied to it by the ACMD. The ACMD has an advisory role in that context and Ministers make the ultimate decision, but we have stated in our working protocol with the ACMD that we should properly consider the advice that we are given, and I think that that is the appropriate course.

The FRANK service provides information and advice on khat and harms associated with its use and misuse, directed at young people, their parents, and those working with them. Treatment for khat misuse typically consists of psycho-social interventions and talking therapies to help change behaviour, and drug action teams are expected to review commissioning of local services in order to respond in the best way to the diverse needs of their local communities. My hon. Friend has specifically sought to draw attention to that diversity this evening.

[Mark Lancaster]

Will the Minister give way?

[James Brokenshire]

I will give way once more.

[Mark Lancaster]

Can the Minister confirm that FRANK offers that information and advice in the native languages of the east African communities?

[James Brokenshire]

I am told that a leaflet has been published in English and Somali, that a range of other drug information leaflets have also been published in Somali, and that the helpline is equipped to take calls in Somali via a translator. However, I understand my hon. Friend’s wish to ensure that the service is provided in a way that makes it accessible to those who may be in the greatest need of its support, and I agree with him that more needs to be done.

The Government are concerned about khat use—particularly among young people—and about the societal impact on the most affected communities, and they adopt a serious approach to their role by taking appropriate action to protect all sections of the community from harms caused by drugs. Since the ACMD’s last review in 2005 there has been an advance in the evidence base, which is why I requested the ACMD to undertake a comprehensive review to update its 2005 assessment. The chair of its khat working group has told me that the planned process of evidence-gathering for the review will be rigorous, and will include engagement with communities and stakeholder organisations and a public evidence-gathering meeting.

The ACMD review will cover issues including classification of khat under the 1971 Act, reporting the prevalence of khat use, identifying key khat-using populations, identifying and quantifying harms associated with khat use—specifically social harms—developing an understanding of responses to khat use through services and public information campaigns, and considering the nature of the khat trade, including international trafficking. The chair of the working group has indicated that he would be pleased if my hon. Friend put him in contact with constituents who have evidence to contribute to the review. Furthermore, the ACMD would welcome sharing its terms of reference for the review and its planned process for evidence collation. I would certainly encourage my hon. Friend and other Members present to get involved and support that. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will emphasise in her annual commissioning letter to the ACMD, which will be issued shortly, the priority that this work should now continue to have as part of the ACMD’s work programme in order to ensure its advice is delivered on time.

We have published two studies on khat, one in October 2010 and the other in July 2011. They reviewed perceptions and international evidence on the link between khat use and social harms, and included an overview of the evidence in respect of legislative approaches adopted abroad. These studies have been shared with the ACMD to inform its review. We identified research gaps, which was why those two studies were commissioned. We anticipate that they will help inform the ACMD’s review. We will ensure that there is appropriate information and we encourage others to participate in the review.

The October 2010 study of perceptions of social harms found that khat use was widely socially accepted within Somali, Ethiopian and Yemeni communities, and that there was an increased prevalence of use including among women and young people. There was widespread support for some level of Government intervention, but there was no consensus, although there was a range of suggestions, including regulation of trade, local investment in tailored services and more research and better statistics, and some called for control.

The July 2011 review of literature on social harms found no robust evidence either for or against in respect of the link between khat and social harms, but there were perceptions of social harms among the UK’s immigrant Somali, Yemeni and Ethiopian communities although there was little evidence of a clear causal relationship to support this view. Reference was made to stronger evidence on the health harms of khat consumption.

The Government have made clear in our drug strategy a commitment to a drug policy that is based on evidence and outcome. We have placed proper consideration of the advice provided by our independent experts, the ACMD, at the heart of enabling the delivery of the strategy. The Government and the ACMD have also agreed a new working protocol, which has been placed in the House Library, setting out a framework for mutual engagement in line with statutory duties. I am sure that my hon. Friend shares my anticipation at the publication of the ACMD’s findings and appreciates the importance of considering the advice of our experts before deciding on next steps, in particular any legislative intervention. My hon. Friend will not expect the Home Secretary to prejudge the outcome of this advice and preclude the consideration of evidence that will be available then. I take this opportunity to invite Members to direct any representations and evidence in respect of khat to the secretariat of the ACMD, based at the Home Office.

We take this issue very seriously. I commend my hon. Friend on the way in which he has approached it and his continued focus on it. We will not kick it into the long grass. We remain focused on this matter and will take action if that is judged appropriate.

Question put and agreed to.