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Cabinet Office

Answer

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will list the main achievements of the drugs strategy. [139190] Mr. Ian McCartney: Good progress is being made in all areas of the Government's anti-drugs strategy. Key achievements to date are outlined in the UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordinator's Annual Report for 1999-2000, published on 7 November. In particular: Young people There has been a steady expansion of drug education in schools (with 93 per cent. of secondary and 75 per cent. of primary schools now having a drug education policy in place) and targeted drug prevention programmes focusing on young people at risk. Treatment The number of drug misusers receiving treatment continues to rise. Communities We have made good progress in breaking the link between drugs and crime by identifying and helping drug misusing offenders to tackle their problems. We have rolled out the Drug Treatment and Testing Orders across England and Wales, and are well ahead of our 2002 target of ensuring that Arrest Referral Schemes cover all custody suites in all police forces in England and Wales. Availability Class A drugs with a value of £1.2 billion were prevented from reaching the UK, an increase of 33.5 per cent. on the previous year, and an increase of 9.2 per cent. in the number of Class A trafficking groups disrupted--nearly double the target. We know there is still more to do. And new money made available to us under the recent Spending Review 2000 will help us to drive the Strategy aims forward.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

357 c670-1W;357 c669W; 139190

Session

1999-00

Question not reached

Yes

Subjects

Crime prevention Drugs Misuse Policy Rehabilitation Young people

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk