The Home Office keeps the Computer Misuse Act (CMA) under regular re-view. The Home Office have been engaged in ongoing discussions with relevant partners in law enforcement, government and private sector to ensure that the legislation continues to remain effective.

Home Office officials have noted the conclusions in Professor Chapman's pamphlet.

[holding answer 16 July 2012]: The most recent estimate by the Home Office of the size of the UK illicit drugs market was published in 2006. It estimated the value of the UK illicit drug market at between £4 billion to £6.6 billion for the reference year 2003-04.

Source:

Reference: Pudney et al. (2006) 'Estimating the size of the UK illicit drug market' In Singleton, N. et al. (eds.) 'Measuring different aspects of problem drug use: methodological developments'. Home Office Online Report 16/06):

http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1606.pdf

[holding answer 9 July 2012]: The Home Office has not (a) produced, (b) commissioned or (c) evaluated any research on the (i) legislation and regulation and (ii) decriminalisation of controlled substances. The Home Office regularly receives expert advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on current provisions under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

'Benzo Fury' is a brand name product currently advertised as a “legal high” in the UK. In those 'Benzo Fury' products analysed under the Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) a number of Class B controlled drugs have been identified as well as 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (5-APB) and 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (6-APB).

We are monitoring 'Benzo Fury' and its contents through our early warning systems. The national drug awareness service website, FRANK, has been updated to include information on 5-APB and 6-APB. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is reviewing 5-APB and 6-APB and considering the available evidence on the harms of these drugs. Any legislative response from the Government would be informed by the ACMD's expert advice.

'Benzo Fury' is a brand name product currently advertised as a “legal high” in the UK. In those 'Benzo Fury' products analysed under the Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) a number of Class B controlled drugs have been identified as well as 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (5-APB) and 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (6-APB).

We are monitoring 'Benzo Fury' and its contents through our early warning systems. The national drug awareness service website, FRANK, has been updated to include information on 5-APB and 6-APB. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is reviewing 5-APB and 6-APB and considering the available evidence on the harms of these drugs. Any legislative response from the Government would be informed by the ACMD's expert advice.

'Benzo Fury' is a brand name product currently advertised as a “legal high” in the UK. In those 'Benzo Fury' products analysed under the Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) a number of Class B controlled drugs have been identified as well as 5-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (5-APB) and 6-(2-aminopropyl)benzofuran (6-APB).

We are monitoring 'Benzo Fury' and its contents through our early warning systems. The national drug awareness service website, FRANK, has been updated to include information on 5-APB and 6-APB. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is reviewing 5-APB and 6-APB and considering the available evidence on the harms of these drugs. Any legislative response from the Government would be informed by the ACMD's expert advice.

The Home Office has not undertaken any research on drug consumption rooms. The Department of Health is the lead Department for research in this area.

The Home Office Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) was set up to identify emerging new psychoactive substances in the UK. Since inception in January 2011, FEWS has identified 18 substances seen for the first time in the UK, a number of which are already controlled under UK legislation.

The results from FEWS are passed to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which keeps drug-related issues under review, including new psychoactive substances. The current availability of substances identified by FEWS is being monitored and, as appropriate, individual substances will be reviewed by the ACMD and advice provided to the Government.

The FEWS annual report published in May is available at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-drugs/drugs/drug-strategy/fews

One new substance has been identified in the UK since publication of this report.

[holding answer 2 July 2012]: The Home Office is committed to undertaking an evaluation of the effectiveness and value for money of the 2010 Drug Strategy. A document setting out the approach to the evaluation will be published in autumn 2012.

Police forces need to tackle crime in line with local priorities and from November 2012 the election of police and crime commissioners will help drive down crime by making policing more accountable and responsive to local needs and concerns. Police.uk now provides the public with street-level information about crime to enable them to hold local policing teams to account. The Government has swept away central targets and is cutting bureaucracy to help free police officers to cut crime. At a national level, the creation of the National Crime Agency will make the UK a hostile environment for serious and organised criminality.

In relation specifically to drug misusing offenders, the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) is a centrally funded crime reduction programme which has been running since 2003. The programme provides interventions for drug misusing offenders across England and Wales at relevant points during their contact with the criminal justice system, including police custody, court, prison, and probation.

Home Office funding for the DIP currently pays for police staff to carry out drug testing to identify drug misusing offenders among those arrested or charged, and ensure they seek support. In addition, the Home Office and Department of Health jointly provide funding to local areas for the employment of drug workers to assess and refer people into the appropriate treatment and recovery services. The programme managed nearly 63,000 individuals into treatment and recovery services in England and Wales in 2010-11, and research has shown significant reductions in offending by individuals in contact with the programme.

Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) has been a controlled Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 since 16 April 2010. Trafficking offences (production, supply, import and export) for MDPV attract severe criminal penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine, and up to five years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine for simple possession. There are no plans to review the classification of MDPV at present.

In terms of statistics, the Government do not collect data at the drug-type level on arrests and incidents of disorder. Similarly, the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System does not collect data on MDPV.

However, the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths, which collected data from coroners, reported in 2010 (the programme's last report) that two cases had been notified where MDPV was found in post-mortem toxicology.

Targeted information and advice on all drugs, including cathinone derivatives like MDPV, is provided via the FRANK drug advisory and information service which the Government re-launched in October 2011.

On 23 March, the Government launched their Alcohol Strategy, which included a commitment to consult on a ban on multi-buy promotions in shops. The Government will consult on this proposal in the forthcoming months.

1-benzylpiperazine (BZP) became a controlled Class C drug under Schedule 2 (Part III) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 on 23 December 2009, together with its related compounds by way of a generic definition provided by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

[holding answer 21 May 2012]: The head of the Drugs and Alcohol Unit represented Her Majesty's Government when he spoke at the World Forum Against Drugs, hosted by the World Federation Against Drugs, on 21 May 2012.

[holding answer 21 May 2012]: The Annual Review of the Drug Strategy published on 17 May 2012 outlines progress in implementing the strategy. We are committed to evaluating the effectiveness of our drug strategy and continue to develop the framework for doing so.

The information requested is not collated centrally by the Europol National Unit (which is based in the Serious Organised Crime Agency).

Between 2007 and 2011, the Reitox network's Focal Point for the United Kingdom, which is based in the Department of Health, formally notified 37 New Psychoactive Substances to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). The EMCDDA's annual implementation report lists the New Psychoactive Substances notified that year, and the countries identifying them at:

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/searchresults? action=list&type=PUBLICATIONS&SERIES_PUB=a104