Prime Minister's question asked in the House of Commons, by Helen Jones (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 27 February 2008 on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Engagements

Question: People in my constituency who suffer because of drug-related crime want the offenders caught and punished, but they also want action to get them off drugs before they wreck their own lives and destroy their communities. What more can the Prime Minister do to ensure that there is effective co-ordination among Departments to tackle the misery that drug addiction causes to the addicts, their families and the people around them?

Answer: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who has taken a big interest in such matters. Although the numbers of people on drugs are down and the numbers of drug-related crimes are down, we still have a major problem to deal with, in respect of the number of people dependent on drugs in our country. Dealing with it starts with proper education in primary and secondary schools, and with proper systems for treating people who are drug-dependent, and includes programmes for treating people in prison, where we want to move the number of people on drugs who are treated to an additional 1,000 a week. I also believe that we must do more to help people who are on benefit back into work. It is right, then, to look at the system that we have for paying incapacity benefit, to see whether there is a better way of ensuring that the 300,000 people on incapacity benefit who are drug-dependent can receive the treatment necessary, allowing them to be in a position to get back to work and not be wholly dependent for ever on one benefit. We are going to come forward with proposals to reform the system to ensure that people who are on drugs have the best possibility of getting off drugs, with the best possible treatment.

Secondary information