Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the Foreign Affairs Minister in the Irish Republic on joint action to tackle international drug trafficking into the UK via the Irish Republic.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK and Ireland have a strong relationship which includes joint action against criminals targeting both the UK and Ireland.
In addition to these operational relationships, there is an annual security dialogue between the UK and Ireland to discuss key shared security issues faced. This includes discussions on international serious & organised crime, with the last one taking place in November 2025.
In January 2026, the UK formally invited Ireland to join the North Sea Channel Maritime Information Group. This group facilitates the cooperation and exchanging of information about maritime border security topics, including information around the movement of drugs. Existing members include Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle the illegal (a) sale, (b) possession and (c) use of cocaine.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.
Cocaine is an extremely harmful drug which is controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 as a Class A drug, with a penalty for possession of up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The maximum sentence for the supply of cocaine is life in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.
This year, we are investing more than £43m in the County Lines Programme to target exploitative drug dealing gangs, whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Programme has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed and 6,200 arrests, including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders.
We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. UK Law Enforcement delivers a significant amount of operational activity overseas and at the UK border to detect and seize illicit drugs being sold and trafficked to the UK. In 2023/24 28.3 tonnes of powder cocaine was seized by police and Border Force in England and Wales. This was an increase from 18.6 tonnes the previous year and the largest recorded quantity of cocaine seized since the time series began in 1973.
We have also committed to driving down drug related harms through prevention and treatment, including by creating local drug partnerships with police forces and public health services.
We will also continue to draw on the advice of experts, including our independent advisers in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). The ACMD has committed to reviewing the drivers of powder cocaine use. In June my predecessor wrote to the Chair of the ACMD, noting that the Government wishes to receive actionable insights from this review as soon as possible.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83494 on Drugs: Organised Crime, how much additional funding to help tackle county lines was provided to Cambridgeshire Constabulary in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are investing more than £43m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Whilst we have prioritised investment in the five police forces with the greatest number of ‘exported’ county lines (Metropolitan Police, Merseyside Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police), the Programme also provides funding for the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response and a dedicated fund which provides local police forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, referred to as the County Lines Programme ‘Surge Fund’.
The Surge Fund is allocated to forces through a bidding process, managed by the NCLCC on behalf of the Home Office. Funding is allocated based on NCLCC’s assessment of county lines threat and impact.
As one of the top importing areas for county lines, Cambridgeshire Constabulary have consistently received investment from the Surge Fund. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of individual police force allocations due to operational sensitivities.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83494 on Drugs: Organised Crime, what the name is of the dedicated fund used to provide additional funding to tackle county lines.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are investing more than £43m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Whilst we have prioritised investment in the five police forces with the greatest number of ‘exported’ county lines (Metropolitan Police, Merseyside Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police), the Programme also provides funding for the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response and a dedicated fund which provides local police forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, referred to as the County Lines Programme ‘Surge Fund’.
The Surge Fund is allocated to forces through a bidding process, managed by the NCLCC on behalf of the Home Office. Funding is allocated based on NCLCC’s assessment of county lines threat and impact.
As one of the top importing areas for county lines, Cambridgeshire Constabulary have consistently received investment from the Surge Fund. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of individual police force allocations due to operational sensitivities.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 October 2025 to Question 83494 on Drugs: Organised Crime, how the amount of additional funding to tackle county lines was calculated for each police force.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are investing more than £43m this financial year (25/26) in the County Lines Programme, to target exploitative drug dealing gangs whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Whilst we have prioritised investment in the five police forces with the greatest number of ‘exported’ county lines (Metropolitan Police, Merseyside Police, West Midlands Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police), the Programme also provides funding for the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response and a dedicated fund which provides local police forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, referred to as the County Lines Programme ‘Surge Fund’.
The Surge Fund is allocated to forces through a bidding process, managed by the NCLCC on behalf of the Home Office. Funding is allocated based on NCLCC’s assessment of county lines threat and impact.
As one of the top importing areas for county lines, Cambridgeshire Constabulary have consistently received investment from the Surge Fund. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of individual police force allocations due to operational sensitivities.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle the illegal (a) sale, (b) possession and (c) use of cannabis.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of our Plan for Change and mission to make our streets safer we will continue to work across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.
Cannabis is controlled as a Class B drug on the basis of clear medical and scientific evidence of its harms. The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is up to 5 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both; and the maximum penalty for supply and production of a Class B drug is up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.
This year, we are investing more than £43m in the County Lines Programme to target exploitative drug dealing gangs, whilst breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade. Between July 2024 and June 2025, the Programme has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed and 6,200 arrests, including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders.
We are taking an end-to-end approach, including working with law enforcement partners upstream and at the UK border to tackle the gangs responsible for drug trafficking. UK Law Enforcement delivers a significant amount of operational activity overseas and at the UK border to detect and seize illicit drugs being sold and trafficked to the UK. In 2023/24 police forces and Border Force seized the largest quantity of herbal cannabis since the time series began in 1973. This was a 53% increase from the previous year (55.59 to 85.01 tonnes).
We have also committed to driving down drug related harms through prevention and treatment, including by creating local drug partnerships with police forces and public health services.
We will continue to draw on the advice of experts, including our independent advisers in the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, and follow the evidence for what works in drug prevention and in building the resilience of people to avoid being drawn into drug use.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that crime groups based in Birmingham, Liverpool and London have county lines operations in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, how they are working with the Scottish Government to combat county lines gang activity.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs while breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response.
NCLCC’s most recent Strategic Assessment found that Scotland was one of the top five importing areas for county lines in 2023/24. The County Lines Programme taskforces conduct joint operations with Police Scotland and are committed to intelligence sharing and cooperation to tackle county lines. In addition, NCLCC regularly coordinates national weeks of intensive action against county lines gangs, which police forces, including Police Scotland take part in.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press notice entitled Record number of gang leaders charged for county lines offences, published on 8 October 2025, how much and what proportion of the funding provided through the County Lines Programme will be spent in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs while breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response.
NCLCC’s most recent Strategic Assessment found that Cambridgeshire was one of the top five importing areas for county lines in 2023/24. County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with importer forces such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary. We also have a dedicated fund which provides local forces, including Cambridgeshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the press notice entitled Record number of gang leaders charged for county lines offences, published on 8 October 2025, how many of the deal lines were in (a) Cambridgeshire and (b) Huntingdon constituency.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
County Lines is the most violent model of drug supply and a harmful form of child criminal exploitation. Through the County Lines Programme, we are targeting exploitative drug dealing gangs while breaking the organised crime groups behind this trade.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, law enforcement activity through the County Lines Programme taskforces has resulted in more than 2,300 deal lines closed, 6,200 arrests (including the arrest and subsequent charge of over 1,100 deal line holders), 3,200 safeguarding referrals of children and vulnerable people, and 600 knives seized.
While the majority of county lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, Greater Manchester Police and West Yorkshire Police, we recognise that this is a national issue which affects all forces, which is why we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre (NCLCC) to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate a national law enforcement response.
NCLCC’s most recent Strategic Assessment found that Cambridgeshire was one of the top five importing areas for county lines in 2023/24. County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with importer forces such as Cambridgeshire Constabulary. We also have a dedicated fund which provides local forces, including Cambridgeshire Constabulary, with additional funding to tackle county lines.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of people who have used Snapchat to purchase vape products spiked with the synthetic drug spice.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The National Crime Agency routinely assess the threats to the UK from serious and organised crime, including drugs supply. The Government is determined to tackle the sale of illegal drugs online, including those sold as vapes. We are taking a co-ordinated approach that includes law enforcement activity, stronger engagement with tech companies, better education for users so they understand the risks and harms; as well as requiring internet companies to take responsibility for their content.
The Online Safety Act 2023 requires internet companies to implement measures to protect their users and to remove illegal content from their platforms, including that related to the sale of illegal drugs. Ofcom, as the independent regulator, is monitoring compliance with the regime. And working with law enforcement, they are seeking to suppress the sale of drugs on the clear web and online platforms through strengthening platform accountability and disrupting online dealer tactics.