Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Main Page: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative - Life peer)Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (Amendment) Order 2013
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Excerpts
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
That the Grand Committee do consider the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (Amendment) Order 2013.
Relevant document: 13th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)
My Lords, I shall speak also to the draft Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2013.
The Government seek to control khat as a class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 to protect the public from the potential harms associated with this drug and the threat posed from its international trafficking. The legislation has been drafted to come into force on 26 May, four weeks after the Privy Council’s approval.
As required, the Government have consulted the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, the ACMD, which provided a scientific assessment of the medical and social harms of khat use. We again thank the ACMD for its comprehensive report. It advised that there was no robust evidence to identify direct causal links between khat use and the associated medical harms beyond the risk of serious liver toxicity. It reported that some individuals use khat in a dependent manner. Although it concluded that it is difficult to disentangle the prevalence of khat use as a cause or a symptom of societal harms, we are concerned that we risk underestimating these harms due to the absence of robust evidence. The Government carefully considered this advice alongside broader policy factors, including some communities’ concerns that khat use is associated with societal harms that affect them—especially vulnerable users and their families as a compounding factor to family breakdown, unemployment and barriers to integration.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
My Lords, I thank both the noble Baronesses for their contributions. While brevity was the call of the day in the contribution by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, the point was made very well that whatever policy we pursue, we want to ensure that we have the desired effect. One of the deep concerns which emerged, and which is behind the Government’s proposal, was the concern over London or the UK becoming a hub. That is not least because, when we are working alongside our European partners, some would perhaps argue that other countries across Europe, Holland being one of them, which have more liberal policies in these matters than we do have already implemented such bans.
I think the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, raised the issue of changes in the pattern. One of the latest figures that we have seen for trafficking evidence is that between January and March 2014 there were 17 seizures of khat. Eleven and a half tonnes of khat were seized while being taken from the UK to France, en route to other countries. While it is just a small window, there has been a change, and I share those statistics with the Committee.
The decision to control khat under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and to adopt an escalation framework for policing khat possession offences was the outcome of a long and thorough consultation process. For the benefit of the Committee, this included research and inquiries into community perceptions and international evidence, which were led and published by the Government and then of course shared with the ACMD, and the ACMD’s own public evidence-gathering sessions and fact-finding visits about community concerns in England and Wales. I will come to some of the specific questions that the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, raised.
The Home Secretary has made clear that the Government’s decision was finely balanced, as the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, also acknowledged. My right honourable friend the Home Secretary also made clear that we do not dispute the ACMD’s scientific assessment of evidence on harms. The working protocol with the ACMD recognises the broader policy factors that the Government have had to consider alongside all available evidence on medical and social harms to inform drug control and classification decisions. The ACMD’s advice helped us to understand the complexity of issues surrounding khat which, in some communities, required our most careful attention.
Beyond the control of khat, we have responded positively to the ACMD’s recommendations on health and community-based interventions that we need to support and that can be tailored to meet local needs. Indeed, that was one of the concerns the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, raised. Public Health England has updated its joint strategic needs assessment guidance for local public health commissioners to this effect. It will advise them with reference to the ACMD’s recommendations and support providers to take appropriate action in centres of khat use, including preparations for a potential influx of khat users and their families once they find that the drug is no longer available.
The Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service provides a tool kit for schools to meet local needs, which will include khat where necessary. The Government have also planned communications activity, including targeted community messaging in the lead-up to the control of khat and afterwards. Khat factsheets have been prepared for local organisations and front-line staff to communicate to users and their families the potential harms of khat, the implications of the law change and where to find locally available support. These factsheets will be made available in four key languages in addition to English: Arabic, Amharic, Somali and Swahili.
This co-ordinated response will support the delivery of our drug strategy aims in these communities to protect the public from drug harms, support dependent and vulnerable users into recovery, and support integration. The Government are fully committed to providing support to anyone who needs it to lead a drug-free life, and to promoting equality of chances among all our communities and citizens, regardless of background.
Law enforcement was another issue raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith. The law enforcement response has been developed taking into account the localised and international nature of the khat trade. Law enforcement activity will start at our borders, due to the trade’s heavy reliance on airfreight and rapid transportation to the point of sale. It will then be for police forces to deal with any residual activity involving khat where there is a local issue. Our escalation policy and targeted messaging aim to reduce the risk of criminalising small groups of individuals by providing opportunities for local agencies to work with vulnerable users and their families in a sensitive and proportionate manner. Information about local support services will be more readily available.
Before I finish this section, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, asked about the support being given to police and what plans are in place. There is national police guidance in the khat possession for personal use intervention framework, which was produced in January 2014. If she has not yet seen a copy of that, I will be happy to provide it to her. She raised issues about the equality statement and Ministers’ knowledge. Ministers were aware of the equality statement and were fully involved with it, but it was signed off by a senior civil servant.
On social harms enforcement, these harms are quite difficult to assess in certain respects—which I suppose applies to any drug, but it is particularly true of khat. We recognise that there is a need for close monitoring. In that regard, perhaps I may turn to some of the specific questions on this issue raised by the noble Baroness. On reviews, as recommended by the ACMD, we will continue to monitor the situation on khat, as we do with all other banned drugs. We recognise the need to review the outcomes of policies specific to khat in local communities, in addition to the collation of local and national data on prevalence, treatment and seizures, as we do with other drugs.
Nationally, we have reintroduced a question on khat use in the Crime Survey for England and Wales and will create a khat-specific offence recording code to monitor local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies’ response to khat-related offences. The noble Baroness referred to the use of stop-and-search powers. As was announced by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary last summer, we will keep the use of stop-and-search powers, which are used too frequently in the Government’s opinion, under constant review.
On the law enforcement response, I have already alluded to the national policing guidance. This has been developed specifically for khat and will ensure that the police response to possession offences is consistent, proportionate and—most importantly—sensitive to local issues and community relations, which was another concern expressed by the noble Baroness. Warnings issued by police will be recorded locally and penalty notices for disorder will be available nationally. It is our belief that the combination of our escalation policy and communications activity will help to reduce the risk of criminalising users by providing opportunities for local agencies to work together to signpost vulnerable users and their families to available support services.
On health and education—another concern raised by the noble Baroness—Public Health England will, first, share and promote effective partnership working among local agencies responding to khat-related concerns; secondly, highlight the need to tailor drug prevention initiatives where appropriate; and, thirdly, continue to use the Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service toolkit for schools to meet local needs, which may include needs in relation to khat. In its letter to the Home Secretary, the UK Somali network stated:
“As community leaders we have been in discussion with Local Authorities, Health Bodies and the Metropolitan Police Service to reduce any disruptions to society and with further guidance and support from all Government agencies, we will put in the necessary framework or safety net for the most vulnerable that require treatment and prevention at the local level”.
We know that this is already happening effectively with local authorities at a local level.
The noble Baroness also asked about the wider, international concerns relating to specific countries, including Kenya in particular. We will of course communicate UK khat policy updates throughout all our international posts. With regard to Kenya, the Home Secretary has set out the Government’s response to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report on khat, including the concern raised about the potential impact of a UK khat ban on the Meru region’s khat industry. We of course appreciate the associated concerns that have been raised about livelihoods, and that is why the UK continues and will continue to deliver a number of projects in Meru county throughout the Kenya market access programme, which is intended to better enable low-income households to participate in a range of value-added markets. For example, this programme currently supports work on aquaculture, livestock and improving the productivity of agricultural communities in Kenya. The Government are also considering how best to improve the commercialisation of rangelands, including through supporting investment in the livestock value chain, tourism and leisure, as well as in other value-added markets. It is our belief that through these objectives and working together with the Kenyans we will achieve the objective of lifting some of the poorest Kenyans out of poverty and providing Kenya with an exit from aid.
I trust that I have answered most of the questions. It is notable that the noble Baroness rightly raised some specific issues about communities that are impacted by khat, the Somali community in particular. Perhaps I may share a quote from Mohamed Ibrahim, who is chair of the London Somali Youth Forum, in his letter to the Home Secretary in July 2013. He wrote:
“I would like to inform the Government that Somali youths, community/mothers and professionals are fully behind such ban, because this about unlocking their potential as citizens, removing barriers to progress”.
I assure noble Lords that we will continue to monitor the situation in the UK, which will help to develop the evidence base for future research into understanding the links between khat use and its associated harms, as the ACMD has recommended.
Baroness Smith of Basildon
I am grateful to the Minister, who has made every effort to address the points that I raised. He is right—this is a finely balanced decision. I am a bit disappointed with some of his answers. I know he made an effort to address them, but I raised specific points that were not out of the blue because I spoke to the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, and his office last week. There have also been discussions over the weekend between my colleagues in the other place and the Government. I would like to consider further the points that the noble Lord has made. The implementation of this measure is so important. When something is finely balanced, the implementation has to be very sensitive, and he has not been able to satisfy me on my specific points about the review or about policing. I should like to consider whether a further debate on the Floor of the House is needed, but I am grateful for the noble Lord’s efforts to address a number of the points I raised.