Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the cultivation of illegal drug farms in abandoned commercial properties.
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.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State of Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the contribution of domestic medicinal cannabis production to the economy.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) actively assists life sciences companies in their endeavours to invest, expand, and export, thereby generating employment and economic growth.
UK-based life sciences businesses receive support from DBT through trade missions to key markets, participation in major trade events, tackling market access barriers, upskilling exporters, and guidance on entering new markets. Although routine assessments of the economic impact of specific life sciences’ subsectors like medicinal cannabis are not conducted, DBT is committed to supporting companies of various sizes throughout their export and inward investment endeavours while adhering to national regulatory guidelines.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Somerton and Frome)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of allowing children to be issued medical cannabis prescriptions on the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for people aged over two years old with certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of medicinal cannabis treatments provided by the NHS; and whether she has plans to increase the number of treatments available.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines are available and funded on the National Health Service, where the safety, quality and clinical and cost effectiveness has been assessed and approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
The Government continues to encourage manufacturers to develop new treatments and invest in research and clinical trials, and offers scientific and research advice from the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Asked by: Christian Wakeford (Labour - Bury South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take steps to ensure that children with severe epilepsy are able to access cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Tracey Crouch (Conservative - Chatham and Aylesford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to help ensure children with severe epilepsy can access effective cannabis-based medications through the NHS.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Licensed cannabis-based medicines, that have been proved effective in clinical trials and judged cost-effective by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), are routinely available on the National Health Service, including for certain types of epilepsy. However, clinical guidelines from NICE demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.
Asked by: Ronnie Cowan (Scottish National Party - Inverclyde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her contribution to the debate on Drugs Policy on 23 October 2018, Official Report, column 87WH, whether she plans to continue to recuse herself from issues relating to cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with normal procedures, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has declared these interests both to her previous departments and the Department for Health and Social Care, and recused herself in the usual way.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the potential merits of utilising medicinal cannabis to treat children with intractable epilepsy.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The licensed cannabis-based medicine Epidyolex is prescribed and routinely funded by the National Health Service for the treatment of people aged two years old and over with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. This follows approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Clinical guidelines from NICE state that there is insufficient evidence of safety and efficacy to support a population-wide practice recommendation for the use of unlicensed cannabis-based products, for the treatment of adults and children with severe treatment-resistant epilepsy. NICE also made recommendations for further research to inform future commissioning decisions.
The Government encourages manufacturers to invest in research and clinical trials, and offers scientific and research advice from the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase access to cannabis-based medicinal products on the NHS.
Answered by Will Quince
Licensed cannabis-based medicines are routinely available on the National Health Service. However, clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions for unlicensed cannabis-based medicines.
Funding of unlicensed products is subject to local NHS decisions on a case-by-case basis. These decisions follow clearly developed procedures that ensure equitable distribution of funding, prioritising those medicines that have proved their safety, quality and clinical and cost effectiveness.
We continue to call on manufacturers to conduct research to prove if their products are safe and effective and we are working with regulatory, research and NHS partners to establish clinical trials to test the safety and efficacy of these products.