Written question asked by Diana Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 27 October 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 October 2014 (named day). It was answered by Mike Penning (Conservative) on Thursday, 30 October 2014 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Drugs: Misuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2014 to Question 208447, how many people convicted of (a) class A, (b) class B and (c) class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 were given custodial sentences in each of the last four years.

Answer

Sentencing and fines imposed in individual cases are a matter for the independent courts, within the limits set by Parliament and following sentencing guidelines.

The number of persons found guilty, fined and given a custodial sentence for class A, class B and class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2013 (the latest data available) can be viewed in the table below.

Persons found guilty, fined and given a custodial sentence for class A, class B and class C drug offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, England and Wales 2009-2013 ^(1)(2)(3)

	Total guilty	Total Fine	Immediate Custody
2009
Class A drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	20,293	5,915	5,627
Class B drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	25,565	11,801	1,459
Class C drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	2,977	792	625
Class unspecified drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	271	3	237
Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁵⁾	232	78	40
Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁶⁾	3	0	0
2010
Class A drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	18,632	5,450	5,343
Class B drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	38,284	16,678	2,969
Class C drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	1,811	600	245
Class unspecified drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	368	3	296
Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁵⁾	241	79	32
Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁶⁾	2	1	0
2011
Class A drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	16352	4766	4857
Class B drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	41524	17655	3705
Class C drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	1655	591	180
Class unspecified drug offences ⁽⁴⁾	376	6	316
Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁵⁾	233	81	31
Various summary offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁶⁾	1	0	0
2012
Class A Drug	15184	5009	4721
Class B Drugs	40526	15814	3428
Class C Drugs	1222	391	96
Class Unspecified	288	0	253
Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁵⁾	177	74	13
2013
Class A Drug	15,426	5,086	4,924
Class B Drugs	39,407	15,162	3,280
Class C Drugs	1,108	334	107
Class Unspecified	318	0	271
Various triable either way offences under Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 ⁽⁵⁾	222	97	18


(-) = Nil

(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

(2) The conviction statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 212153
Session: 2014-15
Related items: Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
Wednesday, 15 October 2014
Written questions
House of Commons
Grouped for answer: Yes
Subjects: Convictions Drugs Misuse Sentencing
Legislation: Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Drugs: Misuse

Secondary information

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