Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle drug-related offences in (a) Cumbria and (b) England.

Reducing drug-related crime is a key priority of the Government’s 10-year Drugs Strategy. We are making good progress. Since April 2022, we have closed over 2,500 county lines nationally.

Through the County Lines Programme, our exporter force taskforces (Metropolitan Police Service, Merseyside, West Midlands and Greater Manchester Police) work in collaboration with importer forces, including Cumbria Police, to tackle the drug supply and exploitation associated with County Lines.

Through our County Lines Programme, we also fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC), to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. We have also established a dedicated Surge Fund to help forces tackle county lines, from which Cumbria have received investment.

Through the Drugs Strategy, we are also investing £532m into high quality drug treatment which reduces crime and reoffending. There are now 24,500 more people in treatment across England, including Cumbria.

The Government has asked every area in England to form a Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP) to work together to reduce drug-related harm and crime. Cumbria is covered by the Cumbria CDP, which has a Police Force Area wide footprint. The Senior Responsible Owner is the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for Cumbria.