Found: cases I am aware of we have heard that the CPS prefers to prosecute cuckooing, for example, as a drugs

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for drug-related offences in Bournemouth in each year since 2019.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at magistrates’ courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2023, including breakdowns for specific offences.

However, magistrates’ court proceedings data held centrally is collated at a Local Justice Area (LJA) level only and is therefore not available for Bournemouth specifically. To view the number of prosecutions at courts located in the Dorset LJA, select ‘Dorset’ in the ‘Police Force Area’ filter (Dorset LJA is the only LJA in the Dorset police force area).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of police officers operating visibly in communities on the number of drug-related offences recorded in the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) antisocial behaviour and (b) other (i) dangerous and (ii) illicit acts caused by illegal drug cultivation.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

Drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government's ten-year Drugs Strategy demonstrates our commitment to cut off the supply of drugs, reduce their recreational use and make the UK a significantly harder place for organised crime groups to operate in. Through our end-to-end plan to tackle drug supply, we are tackling the supply of drugs at every level from production overseas to cultivation in the UK. Our approach recognises that the organised criminals behind drug cultivation are often involved in a range of wider offences including firearms, money laundering, slavery and human trafficking.

Working with the National Crime Agency, the Regional Organised Crime Unit network and a range of agency partners, police in England and Wales coordinated Operation Mille - the most significant operation of its kind aimed at disrupting organised crime groups by dismantling large-scale cannabis farms – a key source of illicit income for organised crime gangs. Throughout June of 2023, police executed over 1,000 search warrants, arresting hundreds of individuals and seized 20 firearms, over £635,000 in cash and over 180,000 cannabis plants worth around £130 million. Of those arrested, more than 450 were later charged with a range of offences. The Home Office provided police with £1.5m funding in 2023/24 to support Operation Mille.

Last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the tools and powers they need to tackle anti-social behaviour. Under the Plan, which is backed by £160m of funding, we are taking a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of anti-social behaviour, including by toughening up the police response to drugs, expanding testing on arrest and banning nitrous oxide.

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.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of convictions for class (a) A and (b) B drug possession in the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

No specific assessment on trends in convictions for drug offences as a result of policy changes has been made, but the Government takes the matter of harmful drugs very seriously. Our approach to them remains clear - we must prevent drug misuse in our communities and support people through treatment and recovery.

The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences, such as illegal possession, and how police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables, but we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law. We expect police to take a zero tolerance approach to drug possession, and this can include sanctions other than prosecution. This includes referrals to treatment, as well as sanctions to make offenders understand the impact of their actions and opportunities for them to change their behaviour. However, we are clear prosecution remains an option to deal with repeat offenders.

We keep the classification of drugs under review. Ministers are subject to a statutory obligation to consider advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent scientific advisory body, before making legislation on the classification of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Legislative changes are accompanied by a robust impact assessment where we set out the potential impacts of such changes.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department provides on the enforcement of offences relating to Category B drugs.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences and how police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables. However, we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 sets out the penalties related to Class B drugs. Under the Act, possession of a Class B drug can be penalised by up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Supply or production of a Class B drug can be penalised by up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Where appropriate and proportionate, officers can issue an Out of Court Disposal.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the promotion of illegal body building drugs on (a) TikTok and (b) other social media platforms.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons

Specified anabolic steroids, which are associated with bodybuilding, are controlled under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and it is an offence to supply these.

The Online Safety Bill will require all tech companies to take robust action against illegal content. Priority offences listed in schedule 7 of the Bill reflect the most serious and prevalent illegal content and activity, against which companies must take measures. This includes the sale of controlled and illegal drugs. Companies will need to take proactive measures to identify and tackle this content on their platforms.

Found: to fight the gangs that are encouraging people to risk their lives crossing the Channel and fuelling drugs

Found: Department of Justice 36 The Drugs/Crime Nexus .

Found: more quickly, and police will soon be able to drug test people arrested for a wider range of illegal drugs

Found: They also play an important role in sharing local intelligence about drugs, crime and anti ‑social behaviour

Found: help services, but I just think in terms of our cohort and the offending that is being that you know drugs

Found: help services, but I just think in terms of our cohor t and the offending that is being that you know drugs

Found: treatment of workers; mobility of workers; movement of persons; co- operation on the fight against illicit drugs