Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance his Department issues to (a) police and (b) immigration authorities on working together to tackle the intersection of (i) drug cultivation and (ii) immigration offences.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Our immigration enforcement officers routinely work alongside police where there is evidence of immigration offences, to support prosecutions and to protect vulnerable persons who may face exploitation from criminal enterprises. Additionally, police work locally with a range of other agencies to mitigate the wider societal harms caused by the illicit drug trade.

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.

Through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the government introduced a statutory defence against prosecution for victims of modern slavery who, for adults, were compelled to carry out criminal offences as a result of their exploitation and, for children, committed offences as a direct result of being a victim. The section 45 defence was designed to provide further encouragement to victims of slavery to come forward and give evidence without fear of being convicted for offences connected to their slavery or trafficking situation which can include drug cultivation.

Following the European Court of Human’s Rights judgment in the case of VCL and AN in July 2021, the positive obligation on the police to identify and investigate whether a suspect may be a potential victim of slavery or trafficking from the outset of an investigation was further strengthened through national guidance and training.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people who are arrested for suspected drug cultivation are assessed for signs that they may have been (a) coerced and (b) exploited by others.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Our immigration enforcement officers routinely work alongside police where there is evidence of immigration offences, to support prosecutions and to protect vulnerable persons who may face exploitation from criminal enterprises. Additionally, police work locally with a range of other agencies to mitigate the wider societal harms caused by the illicit drug trade.

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.

Through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, the government introduced a statutory defence against prosecution for victims of modern slavery who, for adults, were compelled to carry out criminal offences as a result of their exploitation and, for children, committed offences as a direct result of being a victim. The section 45 defence was designed to provide further encouragement to victims of slavery to come forward and give evidence without fear of being convicted for offences connected to their slavery or trafficking situation which can include drug cultivation.

Following the European Court of Human’s Rights judgment in the case of VCL and AN in July 2021, the positive obligation on the police to identify and investigate whether a suspect may be a potential victim of slavery or trafficking from the outset of an investigation was further strengthened through national guidance and training.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps the (a) police and (b) National Crime Agency have taken to tackle county lines operations in (i) Hampshire and (ii) the UK.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle this violent and exploitative distribution model.

County lines is a national issue which affects all forces which is why, through the Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund which provides local police forces, including Hampshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.

Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 5,100 line closures, over 15,600 arrests and over 8,000 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 2,100 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, meeting the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 by April 2025 in half the time.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of when the targeted stakeholder engagement exercise on the proposed offence of cuckooing will conclude.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The exploitation and degradation that is associated with the pernicious practice of cuckooing is wholly unacceptable and this Government is determined to tackle it.

Cuckooing is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, building on our successful County Lines Programme, launched in November 2019.

In March 2023, as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour action plan, we announced that we would be engaging with stakeholders on the scope of a potential new criminal offence.

The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise has revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and Home Office officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to prevent county lines gangs operating in (a) Southport and (b) other coastal communities.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to crack down on county lines gangs which is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our flagship County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen.

Through the Programme, we support a concentrated law enforcement response in the largest exporter areas. This includes funding Merseyside Police’s Project Medusa to tackle county lines originating in Merseyside.

County lines is a national issue which affects all forces which is why we also fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response. The County Lines Programme forces (MPS, West Midlands, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and British Transport Police) also regularly conduct joint operations with importing forces, including those in coastal areas. In addition, we have established a dedicated fund to help other local police forces tackle the scourge of county lines.

Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 4,300 line closures, over 14,200 arrests and over 6,300 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 1,300 line closures by the Programme taskforces since April 2022, against the Drugs Strategy commitment of over 2,000 by April 2025.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, which (a) organisations and (b) other stakeholders her Department plans to consult on the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals for a new cuckooing offence.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government fully recognises the serious impact that persistent Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) can have on both individuals and the wider community. The ASB Action Plan, published on 27 March, commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: 1) stronger punishment, 2) making communities safer, 3) building local pride, 4) prevention and early intervention, 5) improving data, reporting and accountability for action.

As part of the plan, which is backed by £160m of funding, we are committed to tackling the exploitation and degrading behaviour that is associated with cuckooing. The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise commenced in the Spring of 2023 and is ongoing. We are engaging on the potential merits and scope of a new offence with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field and the Devolved Governments.

There is no centrally held data on the number of cuckooed properties. The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, in which all police forces take part. The most recent week of intensification, which took place between 27th February to 5th March 2023, saw 887 cuckooed properties visited.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 59.g of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, updated on 17 May, what discussions she has had with stakeholders on the introduction of the new offence of cuckooing .

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government fully recognises the serious impact that persistent Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) can have on both individuals and the wider community. The ASB Action Plan, published on 27 March, commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: 1) stronger punishment, 2) making communities safer, 3) building local pride, 4) prevention and early intervention, 5) improving data, reporting and accountability for action.

As part of the plan, which is backed by £160m of funding, we are committed to tackling the exploitation and degrading behaviour that is associated with cuckooing. The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise commenced in the Spring of 2023 and is ongoing. We are engaging on the potential merits and scope of a new offence with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field and the Devolved Governments.

There is no centrally held data on the number of cuckooed properties. The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, in which all police forces take part. The most recent week of intensification, which took place between 27th February to 5th March 2023, saw 887 cuckooed properties visited.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what (a) research she has commissioned and (b) information her Department holds on the (i) prevalence and (ii) impact of cuckooing in vulnerable communities.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government fully recognises the serious impact that persistent Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) can have on both individuals and the wider community. The ASB Action Plan, published on 27 March, commits to tackling ASB across five key themes: 1) stronger punishment, 2) making communities safer, 3) building local pride, 4) prevention and early intervention, 5) improving data, reporting and accountability for action.

As part of the plan, which is backed by £160m of funding, we are committed to tackling the exploitation and degrading behaviour that is associated with cuckooing. The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise commenced in the Spring of 2023 and is ongoing. We are engaging on the potential merits and scope of a new offence with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field and the Devolved Governments.

There is no centrally held data on the number of cuckooed properties. The National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC) regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, in which all police forces take part. The most recent week of intensification, which took place between 27th February to 5th March 2023, saw 887 cuckooed properties visited.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of police operations in tackling county lines.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is determined to crack down on the county lines gangs who are exploiting our children and have a devastating impact on our communities. This is why, through the 10-year Drug Strategy, we are bolstering our County Lines Programme, investing up to £145m over three years to tackle the most violent and exploitative distribution model yet seen. By 2025, we expect this to result in over 2,000 more county lines closed, through a sustained attack on the distribution model.

We know our County Lines Programme is delivering. Since the County Lines Programme was launched in 2019, police activity has resulted in over 3,500 lines closed, 10,000 arrests, and 5,600 safeguarding referrals. This includes over 1,000 line closures since April 2022 against the Drugs Strategy commitment. The latest National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) assessment of County Lines also shows a reduction in the total number of potentially active lines per month, with numbers reported to have fallen from between 800-1,100 in 2019/20 to 600 in 2020/21.

As part of our County Lines Programme, the NCLCC also regularly coordinates weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which all police forces take part in. The most recent of these took place 27 February - 5 March and resulted in 276 lines closed (68% increase on the last Intensification Week), as well as 1,658 arrests and over 30kg worth of Class A drugs, £2m in cash and 404 weapons seized.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what further steps she is taking to tackle illegal drugs gangs in the UK.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Illegal drugs devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities. The Government is committed to tackling these harms, including drug-related gang activity.

Our ten-year Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope, sets out a whole system approach to combat illicit drugs through its three priorities: breaking drug supply chains; delivering a world-class treatment and recovery system; and achieving a significant reduction in demand for illicit drugs.

The Home Office has committed £300m of dedicated investment over three years to tackle every phase of the drug supply chain and make it considerably harder for criminal gangs to operate.

With this funding we are supporting intelligence-led approaches to interdict and seize drugs as they cross the UK border, and prevent criminal groups from bringing drugs to our streets. Across the whole of the UK, the National Crime Agency, Border Force, and local police are working in partnership, using intelligence and technology to secure our borders against the activities of drugs gangs, prevent drug trafficking and bring those responsible to justice.

Through the strategy, we are also funding upstream activity to tackle overseas drug supply, which is aimed at disrupting the criminal networks seeking to traffic illegal drugs to the UK, and building resilience into supply chains.

The full strategy can be found here. From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to New support for victims of county lines exploitation, published on 24 September 2022, how much funding will be allocated to support services in London, for each of the next three years.

Answered by Jeremy Quin

We are determined to crack down on county lines gangs and that is why, through the ten-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our successful County Lines Programme.

As part of that, in order to support those exploited, this financial year we are awarding not-for-profit organisation Catch22 up to £1.035m to deliver a specialist support service in London, the West Midlands, Merseyside and Greater Manchester. These are the four biggest exporting areas for county lines activity, aligning with the wider investment in police forces as part of the County Lines Programme.

We are awarding up to £1.5m in both financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25. Separate allocations have not been made by area.

As part of the package of support, funding will also be allocated to continue the delivery of the national confidential and anonymous helpline ‘SafeCall’, delivered across England and Wales by Missing People – including bespoke support for parents and carers.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the particular circumstances which make people vulnerable to exploitation through 'cuckooing', and of the needs of those victims for protection and support.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is aware of the abhorrent practice of cuckooing which often occurs in the context of the county lines drugs supply model.

We are determined to crack down on county lines gangs and that is why, through the ten-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our successful County Lines Programme.

Since November 2019 the County Lines Programme has closed over 2,400 lines, made over 8,000 arrests, and engaged over 9,500 individuals through safeguarding interventions.

Whilst data on cuckooing is not held centrally, the latest week of intensification against county lines (conducted by the Home Office-funded National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) in March 2022), saw 799 cuckooed properties visited.

The Home Office is working with NCLCC to raise awareness of cuckooing through training and peer reviews as well as promoting best practice of how to tackle it through the use of civil orders and multi-agency partnership working and intelligence sharing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many victims of 'cuckooing' were prosecuted for criminal offences related to the criminal activity resulting from this exploitation (1) in 2021, and (2) from January to June 2022.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is aware of the abhorrent practice of cuckooing which often occurs in the context of the county lines drugs supply model.

We are determined to crack down on county lines gangs and that is why, through the ten-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our successful County Lines Programme.

Since November 2019 the County Lines Programme has closed over 2,400 lines, made over 8,000 arrests, and engaged over 9,500 individuals through safeguarding interventions.

Whilst data on cuckooing is not held centrally, the latest week of intensification against county lines (conducted by the Home Office-funded National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) in March 2022), saw 799 cuckooed properties visited.

The Home Office is working with NCLCC to raise awareness of cuckooing through training and peer reviews as well as promoting best practice of how to tackle it through the use of civil orders and multi-agency partnership working and intelligence sharing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the laws available to prosecute those who exploit their victims through occupation, use and control of the victim’s home, known as 'cuckooing'; and how many (1) prosecutions, and (2) convictions, there were for cuckooing behaviour in 2021.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is aware of the abhorrent practice of cuckooing which often occurs in the context of the county lines drugs supply model.

We are determined to crack down on county lines gangs and that is why, through the ten-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our successful County Lines Programme.

Since November 2019 the County Lines Programme has closed over 2,400 lines, made over 8,000 arrests, and engaged over 9,500 individuals through safeguarding interventions.

Whilst data on cuckooing is not held centrally, the latest week of intensification against county lines (conducted by the Home Office-funded National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) in March 2022), saw 799 cuckooed properties visited.

The Home Office is working with NCLCC to raise awareness of cuckooing through training and peer reviews as well as promoting best practice of how to tackle it through the use of civil orders and multi-agency partnership working and intelligence sharing.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people in England and Wales were recorded as victims of 'cuckooing', the exploitation through the occupation and control of their home by others (1) in 2021, and (2) from January to June 2022.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

This Government is aware of the abhorrent practice of cuckooing which often occurs in the context of the county lines drugs supply model.

We are determined to crack down on county lines gangs and that is why, through the ten-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years in our successful County Lines Programme.

Since November 2019 the County Lines Programme has closed over 2,400 lines, made over 8,000 arrests, and engaged over 9,500 individuals through safeguarding interventions.

Whilst data on cuckooing is not held centrally, the latest week of intensification against county lines (conducted by the Home Office-funded National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) in March 2022), saw 799 cuckooed properties visited.

The Home Office is working with NCLCC to raise awareness of cuckooing through training and peer reviews as well as promoting best practice of how to tackle it through the use of civil orders and multi-agency partnership working and intelligence sharing.

Found: Drugs: Organised Crime: Written Question - 59569 Asked by: Ms Lyn Brown (West Ham), Labour, 10 October