County Lines Drug Trafficking

Lord Woolley of Woodford Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I certainly take the noble Baroness’s comments on board. The Government constantly review legislation to ensure that it is working effectively, but I shall certainly look into the point that she makes. We of course want the legislation to work in the best and most effective way.

[Lord Woolley of Woodford (CB)]

Does the Minister agree that many of those caught up in county lines drug trafficking are extremely vulnerable children and teenagers, and furthermore, that our response should and must be cross-governmental? We need to have a grown-up conversation about drugs policy. The present policy—often described as a “war on drugs”—seems only to embolden gangs and cause misery in many communities. At the other end of this joined-up thinking, particularly to stop the disproportionality of black children being excluded from schools, must be an unprecedented recruitment drive of black male teachers.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I most certainly agree with the noble Lord about this whole thing being driven by the drugs markets. The types of people who are most predominantly targeted and engaged in this are indeed vulnerable teenagers, and in fact younger. I totally agree that a multiagency approach is entirely needed, which is what the National County Lines Coordination Centre aims to do. It is a multiagency team of experts from the NCA, the police and regional crime units. I also take his point about the stopping of black people. People should be stopped on an intelligence- led basis, not because of the colour of their skin.