Written question asked by Mark Hoban (Conservative) on Wednesday, 9 May 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 May 2007. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 May 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Drug Interventions Programme

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Drug Interventions Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) is a key part of the Government’s drug strategy. The programme’s central objectives are to get drug misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment.The programme is meeting its objectives. On average over 3,500 drug misusing offenders are now entering drug treatment each month through the programme and the most recent published crime figures show that recorded acquisitive crime, to which drug-related crime makes a substantial contribution, has fallen by 20 per cent. since the onset of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) (the 12 months to March 2003).To supplement management data collected in respect of the programme and local evaluations, the Home Office is carrying out a research programme to assess the effectiveness of individual programme components. Findings to date are published on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html and further evaluations are expected to be published shortly.

Secondary information