Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to dismantle the operations of the county lines drugs gangs in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Kidsgrove.

We are investing £25 million over two years to crack down on the county lines drugs gangs exploiting our children and terrorising our communities.

Last year we invested £5m of this into operational use, with a number of law enforcement operations resulting directly from it taking place. This included county lines intelligence development by Staffordshire Police as part of Operation Engaged, led by West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit. The Home Office has established a County Lines Task and Finish Group through which we work with operational partners to monitor progress.

We are also bolstering our law enforcement response by putting 20,000 new police officers on our streets over three years, and we will continue to take action until we eradicate this abhorrent crime.