18/07/2017

:00:00. > :00:00.therefore I will take it but if it is a continuation of the debate I

:00:00. > :00:09.will be pretty intolerant. I hope it is busy and approaching a point of

:00:10. > :00:14.order. I asked the question of the Minister

:00:15. > :00:18.on something on the Chancellor's of statement. He did not answer because

:00:19. > :00:23.he said it was not in his re-met. Can I ask you guidance as to who I

:00:24. > :00:26.should ask questions of about Treasury document if not Treasury

:00:27. > :00:34.ministers? If memory serves, the Minister

:00:35. > :00:40.indicated he would pass the matter on to the relevant departmental

:00:41. > :00:46.minister. These are not matters of precise facts but of judgment and

:00:47. > :00:50.also of some discretion so far as the Minister answering questions is

:00:51. > :00:56.concerned. When the Chancellor delivers either his budget or in

:00:57. > :01:00.Autumn Statement inevitably he makes announcements that concern

:01:01. > :01:04.expenditure covering all sorts of different Government departments. If

:01:05. > :01:08.subsequently Treasury Minister is asked a question relating to

:01:09. > :01:12.expenditure any particular area, about which, because of their

:01:13. > :01:16.natural self effacement and modesty, in the case of the honourable

:01:17. > :01:21.gentleman for Harrogate, he feels another minister would be better

:01:22. > :01:26.equipped to provide an informative answer, there is nothing disorderly

:01:27. > :01:30.about that. It may be disquieting for the honourable lady but that is

:01:31. > :01:33.not the same as the honourable gentleman's behaviour being

:01:34. > :01:39.disorderly. I hope she will accept that for now and I see the

:01:40. > :01:43.honourable gentleman, the minister concerned, is a beaming with

:01:44. > :01:48.contentment. It has to be said, there is nothing new there. If there

:01:49. > :01:56.are no further points of order, we come now to the urgent question,

:01:57. > :02:01.Leila Moran. To ask the Secretary of State to make a statement on the

:02:02. > :02:09.process for applying for free childcare I was from September 20

:02:10. > :02:14.17. -- childcare hours. Could I thank you for allowing this

:02:15. > :02:18.urgent question. It gives me the opportunity to highlight this

:02:19. > :02:22.Government's determination to invest a record in childcare, supporting

:02:23. > :02:27.early education and helping parents financially. This will total ?6

:02:28. > :02:32.billion annually by 2020. My department is committed to ensuring

:02:33. > :02:38.all 34-year-olds have access to free early education, or parents are

:02:39. > :02:43.entitled to 15 hours of free other education -- all parents. If those

:02:44. > :02:51.billions are working to provide access of 15 conditional I was from

:02:52. > :02:57.September 20 17 -- 15 additional hours. They can access the

:02:58. > :03:02.application on the childcare choice website which provides information

:03:03. > :03:06.on all the Government's childcare offers. It takes around 20 minutes

:03:07. > :03:09.and I recently had a walk-through of the service myself, it is

:03:10. > :03:14.straightforward and new format will be similar to other Government

:03:15. > :03:20.services online. It is a complex IT system which checks eligibility of

:03:21. > :03:25.parent' with other Government systems. The vast majority will

:03:26. > :03:30.receive an instant eligibility response however there will be a

:03:31. > :03:33.delay for some those eligibility is not immediately clear, for example

:03:34. > :03:38.some self-employed people. The services also experienced technical

:03:39. > :03:43.issues which has been unavailable on a small number of occasions. Each

:03:44. > :03:48.MRC has worked hard to resolve these issues and now the customer

:03:49. > :03:53.experience has been proved -- improved. It has been open to the

:03:54. > :03:56.parents since the 21st of April and today we will make a written

:03:57. > :04:04.ministerial statement informing the house that has been further roll out

:04:05. > :04:09.to parents of under five results. They will receive a 30 hours

:04:10. > :04:16.eligibility called to claim their place. As of today over 145,000

:04:17. > :04:19.codes have been generated from successful applications, an increase

:04:20. > :04:29.of almost 5000 tonnes afraid the 14th and almost 25,000 -- 5000 codes

:04:30. > :04:33.since the 14th. It is great news so many families will benefit from 30

:04:34. > :04:38.hours from September because as we have seen from early implementation

:04:39. > :04:41.areas this can make a very positive difference to the lives of

:04:42. > :04:50.hard-working families. Just before we proceed, I must make it clear I

:04:51. > :04:53.granted this urgent question because of the particular narrow and

:04:54. > :05:00.specific focus on the issue of the accessibility or otherwise of the

:05:01. > :05:05.Government's website. This is not an occasion for a general debate about

:05:06. > :05:11.childcare policy and people just want, not unknown in politics, to

:05:12. > :05:15.score political points and ask rhetorical questions, that is not

:05:16. > :05:21.what this exchange is about. It will last for 20 minutes and focus on the

:05:22. > :05:22.particular issue the honourable member identified in her

:05:23. > :05:31.application. I thank the Minister for his

:05:32. > :05:36.response, but as some may be reading in the end of your reports due this

:05:37. > :05:41.week, good effort but not good enough. The process for applying for

:05:42. > :05:45.a free childcare is confusing for both parents and nurseries. One

:05:46. > :05:52.period said to me, getting the code with them is, located process. I

:05:53. > :05:56.think many parents would just give up. The explain you get passed from

:05:57. > :06:03.pillar to post from different areas of the website, each asking you for

:06:04. > :06:08.a different password. Is this really necessary? As members in this house

:06:09. > :06:12.will attest, setting up two factor authentication on iPhones was

:06:13. > :06:19.difficult enough and we have a well resourced IT department. Who is

:06:20. > :06:23.helping the parents at home? As a result, parents have not been able

:06:24. > :06:27.to open accounts to pay for their nursery, playgroup or Playschool and

:06:28. > :06:30.even some of the providers, particularly in the voluntary

:06:31. > :06:36.sector, cannot register. The Government's roll-out of 33 hours of

:06:37. > :06:43.childcare is welcome but only if that is of high quality and parents

:06:44. > :06:47.can access it readily. Why is the website still sending parents a

:06:48. > :06:51.holding response when they finally do submit an online application? How

:06:52. > :06:56.long is the department taking for them to confirm eligibility? What

:06:57. > :07:01.proportion of the children eligible to take up free childcare have been

:07:02. > :07:04.able to do so? And moreover, with the end of the school term rapidly

:07:05. > :07:10.approaching, how can nurseries plan for the upcoming year if parents

:07:11. > :07:15.cannot provide them the details? What support can be a woman provide

:07:16. > :07:19.to nurseries to plan and budget effectively for an as yet unknown

:07:20. > :07:24.number of children joining them on the 1st of September. What will the

:07:25. > :07:27.Government do to review this and the accessibility of the member decision

:07:28. > :07:35.process so that this does not happen again next year? The honourable lady

:07:36. > :07:40.asks some very reasonable questions. Can I be Fisher heard that at the

:07:41. > :07:46.moment 2850 parents are registering per weekday and we are on track to

:07:47. > :07:50.reach a figure of 200,000 by the end of the month. Can I encourage

:07:51. > :07:54.parents to get on with it, we don't want a situation for everybody

:07:55. > :07:59.leaves the till 11:30pm on the 31st of August. The vast majority of

:08:00. > :08:04.cases are processed very simply. We need to check the person does meet

:08:05. > :08:05.the eligibility in terms of income, there are sometimes congregations,

:08:06. > :08:11.self-employed people, people who change their jobs. Could I reassure

:08:12. > :08:17.her in terms of people who currently use the online system, we have an

:08:18. > :08:19.off-line process for any parents who experience persistent technical

:08:20. > :08:29.difficulties and encourage them to take that up. Thank you. I

:08:30. > :08:33.congratulate the Minister on his new appointment. What resources are

:08:34. > :08:38.being given to those from disadvantaged backgrounds to make

:08:39. > :08:46.sure they have access to the free 30 hours childcare? Disadvantaged

:08:47. > :08:53.children are eligible for free childcare at the age of two and that

:08:54. > :08:58.continues 15 hours through to the a job for Mac. This additional funding

:08:59. > :09:03.and 15 hours is for people in work. Some of them may be on low incomes,

:09:04. > :09:07.a person who is working 16 hours at the National minimum wage qualifies,

:09:08. > :09:13.and I have mentioned there is an off-line system for people who may

:09:14. > :09:15.have problems or I cannot use the online for an because of an off-line

:09:16. > :09:18.system for people who may have problems or I cannot use the online

:09:19. > :09:21.food and coffee so far is the applications are coming in, they are

:09:22. > :09:24.being presented to the providers and B have come back to us through the

:09:25. > :09:27.local authorities. Some local authorities have been tight in

:09:28. > :09:32.passing because back to us. If anyone goes back over the recess,

:09:33. > :09:38.ask them if they are getting on with it, that is an area where we need to

:09:39. > :09:43.see improvement. Thank you for granting this urgent question. What

:09:44. > :09:48.a shame it is that when we could be weeks away from a great breakthrough

:09:49. > :09:55.for providers, parents and children, we are discussing a policy that is

:09:56. > :09:59.riddled with holes. Just yesterday, the Minister's colleagues in the

:10:00. > :10:04.Treasury admitted in response to one of my written questions that it is

:10:05. > :10:09.not possible to provide a definitive number of applications not completed

:10:10. > :10:13.due to technical issues. Could the minister gave us his estimate of

:10:14. > :10:17.just how many parents suffered these technical issues? What steps are

:10:18. > :10:22.being put in place to fix the system? What guarantees can he make

:10:23. > :10:27.to parents that as the August deadline approaches the system will

:10:28. > :10:31.work for them? How many calls have the hotline received? Of the 30,000

:10:32. > :10:36.people who applied and were rejected, what were the reasons?

:10:37. > :10:41.Kante guaranteed those rejections were correct? And not due to system

:10:42. > :10:45.errors? What about the parents on zero hour contracts who are unable

:10:46. > :10:48.to guarantee they will work over the minimum weekly hours? How many of

:10:49. > :10:55.them will be refused childcare they were promised? As the Minister will

:10:56. > :10:59.be aware, there are huge problems with this offer. There are many

:11:00. > :11:02.other questions to answer. As the minister likes to refer my written

:11:03. > :11:08.questions to the national provider childcare works, so will

:11:09. > :11:14.implementation weeks away, will he accept my request to meet with them

:11:15. > :11:19.as soon as possible? In welcoming the honourable lady, I have to say

:11:20. > :11:25.she is very much a glass half full person. This is a great offer.

:11:26. > :11:28.Yesterday morning I was in the city of your meeting with providers and

:11:29. > :11:33.parents who were benefiting as one of the pilot areas. I heard from

:11:34. > :11:37.people who said it means do longer do I had to pass my husband and the

:11:38. > :11:42.whole week as I go up to my evening job as he comes in from his daytime

:11:43. > :11:45.job. Eight people in your and accessing employment because of

:11:46. > :11:49.childcare being available. I am really proud this is being

:11:50. > :11:54.delivered. Without the glitches in the software, people are registering

:11:55. > :11:58.and we are on track for 200,000. We don't know how many people we

:11:59. > :12:03.expect, it is a voluntary system. There will be free tranches, it

:12:04. > :12:07.would all happen with the Big Bang, they will be another tranche of

:12:08. > :12:10.parents who qualified in Easter. It is great news for working families,

:12:11. > :12:18.something is Government is delivering on. Given the amount of

:12:19. > :12:22.my time that was taken, the amount of time my constituent had to give

:12:23. > :12:27.up and the technical support people from his department are all as a

:12:28. > :12:33.consequence of the fact that she had an apostrophe in her name, can he

:12:34. > :12:41.speculate as to why on earth we were not told that there was a manual

:12:42. > :12:46.work around? I have made that clear to do. There have been a number of

:12:47. > :12:50.outages, a number of which were to fix some of the glitches my right

:12:51. > :12:56.honourable friend draws attention to. The most recent one was due to a

:12:57. > :13:00.power supply issue between 6pm and 10:20pm, last night, that has now

:13:01. > :13:07.been fixed and the system is up and running again. I congratulate the

:13:08. > :13:11.honourable member for Oxford West End Abington for securing this

:13:12. > :13:16.urgent question and given that this is largely devolved, I will be

:13:17. > :13:20.brief. Ensuring affordable, flexible childcare is one of the best ways to

:13:21. > :13:24.narrow the gender pay gap by helping parents back to work, but also best

:13:25. > :13:27.prepare children for school. In Scotland, the Government is

:13:28. > :13:31.trialling childcare funding following the child by investing ?1

:13:32. > :13:35.million to make sure when we expand free childcare to 1140 parent

:13:36. > :13:39.Everest, parents have the choice to decide what is best for them and

:13:40. > :13:42.their children. We are going further than the UK Government by helping

:13:43. > :13:47.the most vulnerable to-year-olds in Scotland to ensure all children have

:13:48. > :13:51.the best start in life. Quite a contrast to the issue being faced by

:13:52. > :13:54.parents spoke of the border. If disadvantaged bags are not able to

:13:55. > :13:57.apply for jobs go by the deadline due to the Minister's website

:13:58. > :14:04.problems, will be Minister detail how they will be supported

:14:05. > :14:09.thereafter? I thank him for the party election broadcast on behalf

:14:10. > :14:14.of the Scottish National Party. The website is up and running, 2850

:14:15. > :14:18.parents are registering and getting the confirmation codes per day. We

:14:19. > :14:25.would encourage people to do the same as soon as possible, I am very

:14:26. > :14:29.pleased we are now on track. 143,000 Valley 30 hour contract could have

:14:30. > :14:38.been generated and we are on track to reach our target of 200,000 by

:14:39. > :14:42.the end of next month. I have been through a raft of different child

:14:43. > :14:47.support schemes, including none when I started, that is why I welcome the

:14:48. > :14:54.fact there is this support in place. We must not forget that. It is

:14:55. > :14:59.absolutely essential that parents can have the confidence, that they

:15:00. > :15:04.can apply. To do Minister give those reassurances for those who are

:15:05. > :15:10.struggling, we will help them, but not just for the parents but the

:15:11. > :15:13.nurseries. In my constituency, we rely on them to deliver the service.

:15:14. > :15:22.Can we have assurances that will work? That is why we ran this

:15:23. > :15:26.through 12 development areas and 15,000 children are already enjoying

:15:27. > :15:36.that, including the families I met in Europe yesterday. There is

:15:37. > :15:39.flexibility, one can use a childminder, a former nursery

:15:40. > :15:44.setting, mix and match the hours. The hours can be spread over the

:15:45. > :15:48.holidays. Currently, the hours are available for 30 hours a week for 38

:15:49. > :15:54.weeks but that can be spread over the year for those who wish to cover

:15:55. > :15:59.the holidays as well. The Minister says that 120,000 toads have now

:16:00. > :16:04.been given and he expects that to be 200,000 by the end of the month. But

:16:05. > :16:10.given the Government's own estimate of eligible families is over

:16:11. > :16:16.390,000, that is just over a quarter of those eligible have now got their

:16:17. > :16:20.codes. Given we have had a lot of warnings from providers that this

:16:21. > :16:25.scheme is an to them and the worry about building sufficient places,

:16:26. > :16:29.how are they supposed to plan for September when just over a quarter

:16:30. > :16:35.of families have registered for the scheme to date? The honourable lady

:16:36. > :16:38.is making a fundamental error. The total number will be coming in three

:16:39. > :16:44.tranches, one in September, January and after Easter, as the children

:16:45. > :16:50.turn to the eligible age. This is an ongoing system. The children

:16:51. > :16:57.starting in September and need to apply by the end of August. There is

:16:58. > :17:03.no rush for those children in terms of starting in September, January.

:17:04. > :17:08.We are on track to deliver 200,000 by the 1st of September, subsequent

:17:09. > :17:14.tranches of children will come in after Christmas and after Easter. A

:17:15. > :17:18.number of concerns have been raised about providers being able to

:17:19. > :17:23.deliver for the funding we have provided. We have the additional

:17:24. > :17:28.funding end. In the city of your queer aye was yesterday, despite the

:17:29. > :17:31.fact some of the private sector the providers did express disquiet, we

:17:32. > :17:38.have 100% of the providers delivering on the scheme. Compared

:17:39. > :17:43.to the numbers that were projected, we have 117% delivery. Dorset was

:17:44. > :17:46.one of the pilot areas, can he update the House as to the

:17:47. > :17:54.performance of those pilots, specifically in relation to the

:17:55. > :17:57.online system? Those in the pilots did not participate in the online

:17:58. > :18:03.system we have in place now, that was the manually based system. I can

:18:04. > :18:07.assure the How's that for those in parents were involved in testing the

:18:08. > :18:10.service and valuable lessons have been learned from Dorset regarding

:18:11. > :18:16.the operation of the service and provision of free places. In the

:18:17. > :18:20.light of these additional difficulties in bringing in what is

:18:21. > :18:24.a very welcome policy, what additional support is the Government

:18:25. > :18:27.going to give to those narrative is preparing to do this? We need to

:18:28. > :18:34.make sure the resources are there for delivery. We did increase the

:18:35. > :18:41.funding to allow that to be delivered. We have no average

:18:42. > :18:44.funding of ?4 for each and were being provided, that was a direct

:18:45. > :18:50.response to some of the providers that were concerned about the level

:18:51. > :18:54.of funding. Even the providers who said that the funding was not

:18:55. > :18:58.enough, they have now actually managed to deliver at this price.

:18:59. > :19:04.The nursery I visited yesterday said there were surplus places. The inode

:19:05. > :19:13.fool. That is great news for them in terms of their funding. A small

:19:14. > :19:17.preschool community led and not necessarily groups like the one in

:19:18. > :19:21.my constituency are worried about the process for them and local

:19:22. > :19:26.parents. Can my honourable friend advise what Government has done so

:19:27. > :19:30.that all early years providers are able to deliver 30 hours for the

:19:31. > :19:38.families and keep positivity around this programme? The parents have the

:19:39. > :19:42.choice whether to deploy those 30 hours of care, with a childminder,

:19:43. > :19:47.in nursery schools. It can also be with the one of many excellent

:19:48. > :19:51.providers, including preschool playgroups. My wife used to run

:19:52. > :19:56.once, I have been briefed on the issue. It is vital people have the

:19:57. > :19:59.choice of where to sit there lifestyle and the logistics of

:20:00. > :20:04.getting the children to that setting.

:20:05. > :20:10.I was chair of the children and families committee when the Labour

:20:11. > :20:17.Government set us on this path and most of us will welcome this as good

:20:18. > :20:23.news. I have a vested interest, having ten grandchildren and

:20:24. > :20:27.hopefully more to come, but could I ask him, there are many people

:20:28. > :20:32.struggling in my constituency with access, they are not very computer

:20:33. > :20:37.literate and does he not look at the National nurseries Association in my

:20:38. > :20:43.constituency and the marvellous children's charities who could help

:20:44. > :20:46.him? In the shopping I apply this

:20:47. > :20:49.portfolio I met with the number of organisations and look forward to

:20:50. > :20:56.meeting with his locally -based organisations. We wish to engage as

:20:57. > :21:01.widely as possible with a bottle representatives and providers and

:21:02. > :21:05.representatives of families who benefit from this. We could not

:21:06. > :21:10.deliver this were it not for the successful economy that Conservative

:21:11. > :21:17.Government is delivering. As a parent of a one-year-old I am

:21:18. > :21:21.very grateful for the scheme and I'm sure many feel the same. Could the

:21:22. > :21:25.Minister up it behoves on prior to the launch of the system what

:21:26. > :21:27.testing was put in place and specifically how many pagans were

:21:28. > :21:33.involved? There has been two aspects, the

:21:34. > :21:38.pilot areas where we tested delivered it working with providers

:21:39. > :21:43.which has been very successful, particularly in North Yorkshire. In

:21:44. > :21:48.terms of the system, we have 4000 parents involved and I had a run

:21:49. > :21:53.through myself which demonstrated how the system worked. There are

:21:54. > :21:57.some things complications where people change jobs, self-employed,

:21:58. > :22:02.so there are cases where the telephone service can be used to

:22:03. > :22:07.back that up. It is important these problems are

:22:08. > :22:12.resolved quickly. My honourable friend asked some factual questions

:22:13. > :22:16.which the Minister has not been able to direct answer. Could you perhaps

:22:17. > :22:20.a right to those who participated in the origin questions by the end of

:22:21. > :22:32.business on Thursday so we have a full understanding? I will happily

:22:33. > :22:35.give updates. We have passed 143 -- and 43,000 valid applications and

:22:36. > :22:42.will be more than happy to give ongoing updates on that. -- 143

:22:43. > :22:51.valve applications. In a moment I will the right honourable gentlemen

:22:52. > :22:57.to make an application for leave to pose a debate on the specific and

:22:58. > :23:01.important matter for consideration under standing order number 24. The

:23:02. > :23:06.bright honourable gentleman is up to three minutes.

:23:07. > :23:12.I seek leave to propose the house should debate a specific and

:23:13. > :23:14.important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely

:23:15. > :23:19.accepting unaccompanied asylum seeking children into the UK. NBA

:23:20. > :23:25.this in response to a question in the other place by Vanessa Williams

:23:26. > :23:29.-- in a recent response she revealed on the 200 unaccompanied asylum

:23:30. > :23:32.seekers have been transferred to the UK from mainland Europe. Before the

:23:33. > :23:40.election and the Government said they would dig 400 before closing

:23:41. > :23:46.the scheme. -- take 400. This in itself was an outrage to many of us

:23:47. > :23:53.who championed this scheme. The Government's tries to take the

:23:54. > :23:59.figure as low as 480 was mean-spirited and blatantly

:24:00. > :24:01.politically motivated and not worthy of this house or this country and we

:24:02. > :24:04.now know the number of desperate children we have actually received

:24:05. > :24:10.is less than half of that measly target. If the Government cannot use

:24:11. > :24:14.lack of capacity or lack of resource as an excuse, a recent Freedom of

:24:15. > :24:21.Information request show in total local councils of voluntarily

:24:22. > :24:26.offered to accept 1572 more places than they were currently supporting.

:24:27. > :24:34.Whether Serbian children, survivors of the Nazi death camps, Ugandan

:24:35. > :24:38.refugees -- Syrian children. The values of openness and tolerance in

:24:39. > :24:43.this country give us a moral duty to be the land of sanctity and artist

:24:44. > :24:47.they showed we are stronger and more successful because of our

:24:48. > :24:51.willingness to take these refugees, who become proud citizens. Why is it

:24:52. > :24:56.the Government seems committed to turning its back on the world? Our

:24:57. > :25:00.actions in this house directly affect the lives of many hundreds of

:25:01. > :25:04.children with a legal right to come to the UK but who are currently

:25:05. > :25:09.scared and alone scattered across Europe. I and many others will

:25:10. > :25:13.strongly this must be debated before the house, before we rise for the

:25:14. > :25:18.summer recess. The summer months more trips be made to Europe by

:25:19. > :25:23.migrants on unsuitable boats and I feel we are again likely to see an

:25:24. > :25:28.increase in news about people drowning, attempting desperately to

:25:29. > :25:31.reach safely. By the time of talk around there will be many more

:25:32. > :25:35.children alone and there will be many more children alone an orphan

:25:36. > :25:40.living a hand to mouth existence in continental Europe. We must examine

:25:41. > :25:43.their consciences, the Government made an ambitious commitment which

:25:44. > :25:48.had to be dragged out of it, and then cancelled that agreement before

:25:49. > :25:51.even meeting half of the terms. I ask this house to get the

:25:52. > :25:57.opportunity to address this outrage and help those desperate children.

:25:58. > :26:02.The honourable gentleman ask leave to propose a debate on a specific

:26:03. > :26:05.and important matter with urgent consideration, namely accepting

:26:06. > :26:10.jailed unaccompanied refugees. I have listened carefully to the

:26:11. > :26:15.application, on this occasion I am not persuaded this matter is proper

:26:16. > :26:18.to be discussed under standing order number 24, order narrowly I am

:26:19. > :26:25.exalted to say nothing more than that but I will say I am not

:26:26. > :26:31.insensitive to the very strong concerns he and others has on this.

:26:32. > :26:34.There is a limitation of time between now and the recess and the

:26:35. > :26:40.right honourable gentlemen wants to seek other opportunities to hear his

:26:41. > :26:44.concerns on this matter, to model, on Thursday or indeed both, --

:26:45. > :26:54.tomorrow, who knows, he may be successful. In a moment I will call

:26:55. > :26:57.the Shadow Education Secretary to make an application for leave to

:26:58. > :27:02.propose a debate on the specific and important matter that should have

:27:03. > :27:07.urgent consideration under standing order 24. The honourable member is

:27:08. > :27:14.up to three minutes in which to make such an application. Angela Rayner.

:27:15. > :27:18.I seek leave to propose the house should debate a specific and

:27:19. > :27:21.important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely the

:27:22. > :27:28.Government's proposed increase in tuition fees, with regard to the

:27:29. > :27:43.higher education visit, England regulation 2016 number 100 1035.

:27:44. > :27:51.Mr Speaker, on the 30th of March the Justice Secretary stood at this

:27:52. > :27:56.dispatch box and promised a debate and vote on their plans to increase

:27:57. > :28:01.tuition fees. It was scheduled for the 19th of April but then on the

:28:02. > :28:05.18th of April the Prime Minister announced her plans to go to the

:28:06. > :28:12.country an early general election. That meant the debate was cancelled.

:28:13. > :28:17.Oddly, they have been determined not to grab the house a vote since the

:28:18. > :28:20.election. The shadow Leader of the House has raised the issue of

:28:21. > :28:26.business questions on the 22nd of June, the sixth and the 13th of

:28:27. > :28:30.July, she finally received a letter saying we currently have no plans to

:28:31. > :28:36.schedule these debates and Government time.

:28:37. > :28:42.What a contrast with the want of the Secretary of State for Exiting the

:28:43. > :28:47.EU, who last week said, "If a statutory instrument is placed in

:28:48. > :28:52.front of the House of Commons, the House of Commons decide if it

:28:53. > :28:56.debates and votes on it." A statutory instrument is before this

:28:57. > :29:02.house but we are not being allowed to decide on debate and vote on it.

:29:03. > :29:08.How can he expect us to trust this Government with the sweeping powers

:29:09. > :29:11.he was under the EU withdrawal bill? It was the first secretary of state

:29:12. > :29:17.who called only two weeks ago for a national debate on tuition fees, but

:29:18. > :29:22.apparently the national debate will not include this house. Both

:29:23. > :29:27.universities and thousands of students across the country are now

:29:28. > :29:31.uncertain about the rate of tuition fees can be charged, was neither

:29:32. > :29:41.Government nor opposition time being provided, we have no choice but to

:29:42. > :29:46.use standing order 24. So, 109 days since it was for as promised by

:29:47. > :29:53.ministers, I ask the Leader of the House for an emergency debate on

:29:54. > :29:56.their plans to raise tuition fees. The member ask leave to propose a

:29:57. > :29:59.debate on a specifically important matter that should have urgent

:30:00. > :30:03.consideration, the Government proposed increase in tuition fees

:30:04. > :30:13.with regard to the higher education basic England regulation 2016 and

:30:14. > :30:21.the higher education higher amount England regulation 2016.

:30:22. > :30:28.I have listened carefully to the application from the honourable

:30:29. > :30:31.member, I am satisfied the matter raised by the honourable member is

:30:32. > :30:36.proper to be discussed under standing order number 24, has the

:30:37. > :30:45.honourable member the leave of the house?

:30:46. > :30:51.The member has obtained the leave of the house. The debate I can

:30:52. > :30:57.therefore advise colleagues, will be held tomorrow, the 19th of July

:30:58. > :31:04.2017, as the first item of public business. The debate will last for

:31:05. > :31:07.up to three hours and will arise on a motion that the house has

:31:08. > :31:17.considered the specified matter set out in the honourable member's

:31:18. > :31:26.application. Thank you. Point of order.

:31:27. > :31:30.The BBC, as our public sector broadcaster, paid for by all of us

:31:31. > :31:36.through the licence fee is to announce details of presenters'

:31:37. > :31:41.salaries over the threshold of ?150,000 per year,. The campaign to

:31:42. > :31:45.get this transparency has gone on for around ten years. Some of us

:31:46. > :31:51.have been heavily involved in that campaign. The BBC firstly avoided

:31:52. > :31:55.their more recently dragged their feet and eventually agreed to

:31:56. > :32:00.publish this information which the general public, as their paymasters,

:32:01. > :32:04.have the right to know. However, they are doing this on the day

:32:05. > :32:08.before parliament late -- parliamentary scrutiny ends for the

:32:09. > :32:14.summer recess tomorrow. Have you been informed by the Secretary of

:32:15. > :32:18.State for culture media and sport of her intention to come to the house

:32:19. > :32:27.to outline the unacceptable nature of the timing of this announcement?

:32:28. > :32:37.Both his point of order... The short answer on that last and key point in

:32:38. > :32:40.his remarks is, no, I have received no indication from any minister of

:32:41. > :32:46.an intention to make a statement on the matter. I understand the concern

:32:47. > :32:52.of the honourable gentleman and I appreciate it may well also be

:32:53. > :33:01.shared by many members. That said, it is not the point of order for the

:33:02. > :33:08.chair. The decisions made on the timing of announcements or

:33:09. > :33:15.disclosures by the BBC do not fall within the aegis of the Speaker. I

:33:16. > :33:21.think it is also fair to say strictly speaking those of judgment

:33:22. > :33:25.do not, to any significant extent, false within the responsibility of

:33:26. > :33:30.ministers. Ministers can have views on these matters and that is

:33:31. > :33:33.perfectly proper, but they are not matters for ministerial decision.

:33:34. > :33:40.That said, the honourable gentleman has succeeded in putting his concern

:33:41. > :33:43.on the record and I feel sure that concern will have been heard, not

:33:44. > :33:48.only by the occupants of the Treasury bench, but by the

:33:49. > :33:55.broadcasters themselves. The honourable gentleman is an assiduous

:33:56. > :34:00.denizen of this house and I feel sure he will be in his place

:34:01. > :34:05.tomorrow and indeed, in all likelihood, I feel sure he will be

:34:06. > :34:09.here on Thursday. I dare say he will want to get back to Northern Ireland

:34:10. > :34:13.at some point but I'm sure he will be in his place on Thursday and

:34:14. > :34:17.springing from it with a view to giving the house the benefit of his

:34:18. > :34:22.views in the summer adjournment debate. That might be a suitable

:34:23. > :34:23.opportunity for the honourable gentleman Cuban expatriate further

:34:24. > :34:36.on this important matter. I seek your guidance and advice. As

:34:37. > :34:40.you are aware, it is regular and customary for the Government to give

:34:41. > :34:44.written responses to select committee reports within two months

:34:45. > :34:48.of the publication of those reports. The foreign affairs select committee

:34:49. > :34:52.in the last Parliament published a report on Russia in March and

:34:53. > :34:57.published a report on Turkey in March. Given the topicality of the

:34:58. > :35:02.anniversary of the coup in Turkey, I was hopeful I would have been able

:35:03. > :35:06.to read a response from the Government to that select committee

:35:07. > :35:11.report. I know the house has had a general election and the two-month

:35:12. > :35:16.period was not continuous, but the period after March and the period

:35:17. > :35:20.since we resumed in this parliament is more than two months. Therefore,

:35:21. > :35:25.I would be grateful if you could advise me as to what I can do to

:35:26. > :35:28.ensure that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides a

:35:29. > :35:32.response to those select committee reports, which are long overdue. I

:35:33. > :35:37.am sorry to disappoint the honourable gentleman whose interest

:35:38. > :35:41.in and knowledge and of these matters are well-known and respected

:35:42. > :35:47.throughout the House. The short answer is that the best way to

:35:48. > :35:53.guarantee a timely, or at least less and timely response to that report,

:35:54. > :35:56.from the committee, will be to reconstitute the committee as as

:35:57. > :35:59.soon as possible. The honourable gentleman is right that there has

:36:00. > :36:07.been a longer delay. Ministers can take the view that they are

:36:08. > :36:11.responding to a report from a committee and that currently that

:36:12. > :36:17.committee does not exist, it needs to be reconstituted. I think the

:36:18. > :36:24.honourable gentleman may have been present when I volunteered some

:36:25. > :36:31.thoughts, if he wasn't, I do say he heard, on the merit of getting on

:36:32. > :36:34.with the constitution of the select committees. Personally, I am

:36:35. > :36:41.saddened, although the chairs have been elected, the members have not

:36:42. > :36:47.been elected across the House. It is a pity if some have not got around

:36:48. > :36:51.to doing that. There is not much I can do, other than say "aye" am

:36:52. > :36:54.always looking out for the honourable gentleman and a few bob

:36:55. > :37:05.up and down with a view to raising this matter, I will try to

:37:06. > :37:09.accommodate him. If there are no further... It is always a delight to

:37:10. > :37:13.do the views of the honourable gentleman, I have been accustomed to

:37:14. > :37:18.them for the last 30 years. Always better when they are offered from

:37:19. > :37:26.him on his feet rather than his seat. If there are no further points

:37:27. > :37:33.of order, we now come to the general debate on drugs policy. The Minister

:37:34. > :37:38.to move the motion. Ministers say the Newton. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I

:37:39. > :37:44.am really pleased to have the opportunity this afternoon to open

:37:45. > :37:47.this debate on drug policy, as many of you will know that the Government

:37:48. > :37:53.has just published an ambitious new drug strategy, which sets out a

:37:54. > :37:59.range of new action to prevent the harms caused by drug misuse. The

:38:00. > :38:06.Government's previous drug strategy, launched in 2010 balanced action

:38:07. > :38:10.across three strands. Reducing the demand for drugs, restricting the

:38:11. > :38:17.supply of drugs and supporting individuals to recover from drug and

:38:18. > :38:20.alcohol dependence. Since the 2010 strategy was published, local

:38:21. > :38:25.communities have been placed at the heart of Public health, giving local

:38:26. > :38:29.Government the freedom, responsibility and funding to

:38:30. > :38:33.develop their own ways of improving public health in the local

:38:34. > :38:36.population, including action to reduce drug and alcohol use and

:38:37. > :38:42.support those recovering from dependence. We have already taken

:38:43. > :38:48.concerted action to tackle new threats, such as the supply of

:38:49. > :38:53.so-called legal highs through the psychoactive substance act 2016.

:38:54. > :38:57.There are positive signs that the Government's approach is working.

:38:58. > :39:02.There has been a reduction in drug misuse amongst adults and young

:39:03. > :39:13.people, compared to a decade ago in England and Wales. From 10.5% in

:39:14. > :39:18.2000 to 8.4% in 2015, 16. The issue about drugs and alcohol abuse is a

:39:19. > :39:24.very difficult issue to deal with. What consultations has she had with

:39:25. > :39:26.the various groups and communities who are concerned about mental

:39:27. > :39:35.health problems are related to these abuses? I thank you for your

:39:36. > :39:42.question. We did consult widely with a range of not only experts and

:39:43. > :39:47.academics, we are very well served by the ACM entity but also

:39:48. > :39:50.communities, users themselves, those people who have first line and

:39:51. > :39:55.front-line experience of tackling these issues. I agree with him that

:39:56. > :40:00.we have to look at the complexity of the challenges facing individuals

:40:01. > :40:06.who are drawn into substance misuse in the first place and making sure

:40:07. > :40:11.we have tailor recovery solutions, which will often include support an

:40:12. > :40:15.underlying vulnerabilities or mental health issues. The strategy, as I

:40:16. > :40:21.will outline in some detail this afternoon, it really seeks to have

:40:22. > :40:25.this multifaceted joined up approach with those people right at the

:40:26. > :40:33.heart. So they can make a sustained recovery, which is unsure is what we

:40:34. > :40:38.all want to see. I am very grateful. She says there are signs the policy

:40:39. > :40:41.is working, but she ever pause for thought when she looks at the blue

:40:42. > :40:46.significant increases in the number of people who have died from drug

:40:47. > :40:52.misuse in the last three years? A picture that is not mirrored in

:40:53. > :40:58.other European countries who have taken a more enlightened approach. I

:40:59. > :41:00.thank him for his contribution. There is no complacency whatsoever

:41:01. > :41:06.in the mine and the Government's approach. As I was setting out the

:41:07. > :41:12.context for the new strategy, it is worth reflecting on some of the

:41:13. > :41:16.successes we have had in the past so we have got a good evidence base

:41:17. > :41:21.upon which to build for the future. Like him, I am very concerned by the

:41:22. > :41:27.increase in deaths of people who have often had long-term substance

:41:28. > :41:31.misuse problems. If the gentleman stays for the debate this afternoon,

:41:32. > :41:36.he would hear about our approach is to what we are going to do to really

:41:37. > :41:40.prevent that from happening. It is a key part of our new strategy and

:41:41. > :41:46.perhaps when I get to that part of the contribution I am very welcome

:41:47. > :41:50.to dig further interventions. As somebody who served so well as a

:41:51. > :41:53.Minister of health and the coalition, who played such an

:41:54. > :41:56.important role in the Department of Health for some of the successes we

:41:57. > :42:01.have seen, if you're going to make a speech this afternoon we can

:42:02. > :42:04.carefully listen and take into consideration in the work we are

:42:05. > :42:14.going to be doing in the years ahead. In her speech whether she

:42:15. > :42:18.might come to the point about in 2013 when the rate of drug mortality

:42:19. > :42:23.started to rise, that was at the very same time that the ring fence

:42:24. > :42:27.was taken off for drug and alcohol treatment is that local authorities

:42:28. > :42:32.became responsible for, and whether she thinks her Government's position

:42:33. > :42:38.to do that is something she regrets? I will come on to talk more about

:42:39. > :42:42.the situation of more people dying who have had long-term substance

:42:43. > :42:46.misuse problems. I would remain to be honourable lady that the public

:42:47. > :42:51.health grant remains ring fenced and it is for local authorities working

:42:52. > :42:56.with partners in their communities to come up with the best ways of

:42:57. > :43:02.tackling people's serious and long-term substance misuse problems.

:43:03. > :43:05.We have seen phenomenal improvement in how we understand the overlap

:43:06. > :43:11.between mental health problems and substance abuse problems. It is not

:43:12. > :43:16.just the public health grant that councils and the partnership is the

:43:17. > :43:20.form in local communities have, they also have the significant additional

:43:21. > :43:23.funding the Government's has made available into mental health

:43:24. > :43:28.services and community mental health services, as well as the homeless

:43:29. > :43:32.prevention funding they get and troubled families funding they get,

:43:33. > :43:36.and the whole point, as I will hopefully have an opportunity to

:43:37. > :43:41.come in to make, is what's different about this strategy in part as the

:43:42. > :43:48.partnership working which we see as the heart of driving forward further

:43:49. > :43:51.improvements. I thank the Minister for giving way, she is being

:43:52. > :43:56.extremely generous to the chamber. Parents were very much welcome the

:43:57. > :44:01.Government's focus on an updated and dined strategy. Cannabis use is

:44:02. > :44:07.associated mental health impact has been one of the most upsetting

:44:08. > :44:13.issues that has come through surgery meetings with myself. In particular

:44:14. > :44:17.of teenagers and young people after cannabis misuse. Would-be Minister

:44:18. > :44:21.agree that this joined up approach in terms of access locally is

:44:22. > :44:28.absolutely vital for these families who are affected? She makes a very

:44:29. > :44:33.important point. I doubt if there is a member in the How's that has not

:44:34. > :44:37.either had a family member or a member of the constituency come

:44:38. > :44:41.along and speak to them about the harrowing effect and the huge

:44:42. > :44:46.concern they have of young members of their family getting involved in

:44:47. > :44:52.drugs. There is a growing evidence base and a deep concerns about

:44:53. > :44:56.particularly the development of young minds, the impact of cannabis

:44:57. > :45:03.on them, and we are seeing a lot of concerns raised the psychosis can be

:45:04. > :45:07.brought on by even a very modest exposure to cannabis. It is

:45:08. > :45:12.essential we look at mental health and substance misuse together, I can

:45:13. > :45:16.assure her that is very much at the heart of what we are going to be

:45:17. > :45:20.doing. It is worth noting although we have all come across far too

:45:21. > :45:25.frequently these heartbreaking cases of young people who have had

:45:26. > :45:29.terrible consequences of taking drugs, including losing lives, but

:45:30. > :45:35.overall actually fewer young people are taking drugs. For the very

:45:36. > :45:40.reliable data we have, there was a peak of drug use amongst 11 to

:45:41. > :45:44.15-year-olds in 2013 and there has been a continual decline since then.

:45:45. > :45:49.We are not at all complacent and there is going to be more work we

:45:50. > :45:53.are going to be doing on educating young people about the times. Not

:45:54. > :45:58.only are we seeing fewer people taking drugs in the first place but

:45:59. > :46:02.those who are entering treatment services were having good experience

:46:03. > :46:06.as a treatment services and to the average waiting time to access

:46:07. > :46:15.treatment remains three days. For those that are under 18, the

:46:16. > :46:18.treatment within the first is that within two days, 80% of young people

:46:19. > :46:22.entering treatment leave it successfully. I think we have got

:46:23. > :46:30.some good foundations to work on here. She is being generous and

:46:31. > :46:35.making good points about the seriousness of the issue we are

:46:36. > :46:41.debating today. Does she agree that although total drugs use figures may

:46:42. > :46:44.be coming down, what we all tend to see in our committees are a small

:46:45. > :46:48.number of very high profile often murders which do involve drugs and

:46:49. > :46:52.drug dealing and the stars and settled communities. I would be

:46:53. > :46:56.interested to see whether she has any hints there is what we can all

:46:57. > :47:00.do to try and improve that situation. On the business of curing

:47:01. > :47:03.people, has she had a chance to look at the programmes introduced by the

:47:04. > :47:10.Nelson trust in Gloucestershire, which has an approach of tough love

:47:11. > :47:14.that seems to be working very well? I have to say, I have not visited

:47:15. > :47:21.the Nelson Trust but maybe he will invite me to come along. It is

:47:22. > :47:26.really important that we continue to build up the evidence base about

:47:27. > :47:30.what works. We have an open mind to looking at innovation and new ways

:47:31. > :47:37.of helping people give up their addiction. He raises a very good

:47:38. > :47:42.point about the overlap between crime and substance misuse, and of

:47:43. > :47:44.course there is a strong correlation between crime and modern crime

:47:45. > :47:49.prevention strategy but substance misuse, in terms of alcohol and

:47:50. > :47:57.drugs, the ice on the key drivers of crime. It is important that as part

:47:58. > :48:02.of isolation law enforcement has got a critical role to play. We wanted

:48:03. > :48:09.to make sure that law enforcement have all the tools they need. The

:48:10. > :48:13.act brought in in 2016 has really had a very positive impact, hundreds

:48:14. > :48:19.of retailers across the United Kingdom have closed down or are no

:48:20. > :48:22.longer selling out the leg psychoactive substances, police have

:48:23. > :48:25.arrested suppliers, and the action by the National crime agency has

:48:26. > :48:28.resulted in the removal of cycle of active substances being sold by the

:48:29. > :48:34.UK-based website. First offenders have been jailed. We are seeing

:48:35. > :48:44.police using their new powers and more people going through the

:48:45. > :48:48.criminal justice system. I would be absolutely delighted if she would

:48:49. > :48:53.care to visit Gloucester, have a look at what the troubled families

:48:54. > :48:56.programme by the county council is doing, Families First, have a look

:48:57. > :49:01.at the Nelson Trust programme for drug rehabilitation and meet another

:49:02. > :49:07.trust which are doing a lot to educate people in schools about the

:49:08. > :49:15.dangers of murder after that lady was murdered herself. He is really

:49:16. > :49:19.well illustrating how any local community what is needed is a

:49:20. > :49:23.joining up of services, prevention in schools are right the way through

:49:24. > :49:27.to the criminal justice system working well, alongside recovery

:49:28. > :49:31.working well. I will be delighted to visit with him to have a look at how

:49:32. > :49:41.does different services are joining up so well in Gloucestershire.

:49:42. > :49:49.Pollies and law enforcement issues in my constituency has also been

:49:50. > :49:52.raised. Would the Minister Luca legislation where: cannabis use is

:49:53. > :49:58.impacting on neighbours, where children and young babies next door

:49:59. > :50:06.to long-term users is impacting on their daily lives? My friend makes a

:50:07. > :50:12.very important point and what I would be prepared to do is right to

:50:13. > :50:16.with the range of existing powers. I know from my own constituency

:50:17. > :50:20.sometimes the police are not always aware of the civil powers they have

:50:21. > :50:27.in addition to criminal powers to tackle some of the anti-social

:50:28. > :50:33.behaviour associated with persistent drug use so I do understand and

:50:34. > :50:37.recognise challenge she portrays but also there is the work of the

:50:38. > :50:44.troubled families programme that is designed in part to look at those

:50:45. > :50:49.families where there is drug users or substance misuse problems in

:50:50. > :50:54.order to help them and in helping them help the children living in

:50:55. > :51:01.these households. We have already more mentions in the

:51:02. > :51:06.first ten minutes of the police that we have police officers in my area

:51:07. > :51:13.but can she can from really mainly country in the world other than the

:51:14. > :51:17.USA where the Government lead for drugs is in criminal justice as

:51:18. > :51:23.opposed to health and if it is evidence -based, why is that?

:51:24. > :51:28.I'm sure there are many more police officers in Bassetlaw and members in

:51:29. > :51:29.this chamber this afternoon! -- bandmembers.

:51:30. > :51:44.I am proud of our drug strategy a world leading because we take this

:51:45. > :51:49.cross Government approach. It is not a simple issue. Tackling substance

:51:50. > :51:55.abuse is not a simple thing to do and that is why we take this whole

:51:56. > :51:59.Government joined up approach. Our friends and colleagues from the

:52:00. > :52:04.Department of Health are firmly involved, as is virtually every

:52:05. > :52:07.Government department and I think colleagues I will make more progress

:52:08. > :52:15.so then I can answer some of the questions.

:52:16. > :52:19.Sensory psychoactive substances act, the Greater Manchester Police would

:52:20. > :52:23.argue supply has shifted to the streets and the product was more

:52:24. > :52:28.consistent in the head shops, now it is constantly changing and which you

:52:29. > :52:31.can read part of the reason for the epidemic of space based in

:52:32. > :52:37.Manchester which causes huge programmes is because of that shift

:52:38. > :52:43.-- huge problems. We were all very concerned when we saw those images

:52:44. > :52:47.of people on these new zombie spice in Manchester and I was very pleased

:52:48. > :52:52.that the psychoactive substances act proved itself in the case of space

:52:53. > :52:56.because as soon as we saw those dangers emerging we were able to

:52:57. > :53:01.take action to ban it through the substances act and then as we did

:53:02. > :53:06.testing to understand the chemical components and how serious bit words

:53:07. > :53:11.we were able to shift them into the misuse of drugs act, which give them

:53:12. > :53:15.proper classification. Only on Friday I was pleased to see a

:53:16. > :53:24.Manchester that the whole community got together with other cities,

:53:25. > :53:27.where you have law enforcement, the mayor, civil society, local

:53:28. > :53:32.authorities, all coming together to do exactly what we are proposing in

:53:33. > :53:36.the drug strategy, a multi-agency approach, saw those awful scenes we

:53:37. > :53:41.saw the very vulnerable for most people the Manchester being so

:53:42. > :53:46.wickedly targeted by drug dealers of that type of space, those issues are

:53:47. > :53:51.now been properly manage so people who are homeless get the support so

:53:52. > :53:57.they do not fall prey to that activity. With the stringent

:53:58. > :54:03.measures for sentencing available under the misuse of drugs act, the

:54:04. > :54:10.police and Manchester have the full range of tools they need to take

:54:11. > :54:15.action. In the Netherlands has had a

:54:16. > :54:20.pragmatic and intelligent drug policy the criminalisation for 50

:54:21. > :54:25.years. They now have a serious prison problem because there are not

:54:26. > :54:30.enough prisoners to fill their prisons. Isn't this a problem we are

:54:31. > :54:35.going -- we would like to have your? I accept there are some members of

:54:36. > :54:39.the toes and some people in our country that except we should be

:54:40. > :54:44.decriminalising drugs. I certainly do not agree with that because we

:54:45. > :54:50.are evidence -based possibly makers and all the evidence shows of the

:54:51. > :54:56.full harms of the drugs we ban and restricts and it is our job, our

:54:57. > :55:00.primary job to keep people safe and the way to keep people safe is to

:55:01. > :55:07.prevent them from taking drugs in the first place. I note the point

:55:08. > :55:12.about evidence -based but it is clear on the evidence the most

:55:13. > :55:16.dangerous drug in terms of harm is alcohol so could she explain the

:55:17. > :55:21.different approach the Government takes to alcohol, the most dangerous

:55:22. > :55:27.drug, and for example cannabis. I would not agree with the

:55:28. > :55:34.honourable gentleman, that alcohol is the most dangerous drug, if you

:55:35. > :55:39.look at the substances which we are restricting, of course there are

:55:40. > :55:44.those people who take alcohol to such a harmful degree it is

:55:45. > :55:49.devastating for them and devastating to their family members and the

:55:50. > :55:55.wider community. I fully accept, as we do in the crime prevention

:55:56. > :55:59.strategy, misuse of alcohol does have very dramatically harmful

:56:00. > :56:06.effects and contributes to crime, but alcohol taken in moderation is

:56:07. > :56:12.not a harmful drug and the Department of Health constantly

:56:13. > :56:20.keeps under review and is doing research all the time to understand

:56:21. > :56:27.the health impacts of Argyll and revisits -- of alcohol and revisits

:56:28. > :56:31.safe doing things -- safe drinking victims which was recently updated

:56:32. > :56:41.to suggest people should consume less alcohol.

:56:42. > :56:45.Last week I visited a drug recovery group in my constituency that

:56:46. > :56:48.expressed some concern about the effectiveness of the drug

:56:49. > :56:54.rehabilitation requirements, they felt they did not have enough teeth,

:56:55. > :57:00.took up a lot of staff time and I note on the strategy the Government

:57:01. > :57:05.is evaluating the framework pilot and I wonder if anyone might be

:57:06. > :57:11.seeing something on her thinking about current thinking on drug

:57:12. > :57:15.rehabilitation requirements. I know the member is someone who

:57:16. > :57:22.takes a deep interest in this policy area and we are very much hoping

:57:23. > :57:28.when we have the recovery champion up and running they will be taking a

:57:29. > :57:33.key role in looking at best practice, developing our evidence

:57:34. > :57:40.base for what works. We clearly set out in the strategy we see sustained

:57:41. > :57:44.abstinence over a 12 month period getting back into work, playing a

:57:45. > :57:49.full part in society as key outcomes of recovery. I think that will

:57:50. > :57:53.address some of the concerns I know my honourable friend has that in the

:57:54. > :57:59.past too many drug recovery programmes were just a revolving

:58:00. > :58:02.door, people came in, they were there for period of time, they may

:58:03. > :58:09.have got clean but what they needed was support on housing, jobs,

:58:10. > :58:13.education so they could their recovery and those programmes were

:58:14. > :58:19.not incentivised to actually enable that. We are looking over outcome

:58:20. > :58:24.frameworks or a longer period of time to ensure people have the best

:58:25. > :58:27.chance of recovery, including mental health services along with their

:58:28. > :58:33.recovery services. Who else wanted to ask a question?

:58:34. > :58:38.I was referring to the point about alcohol and I agree but alcohol is

:58:39. > :58:44.consumed throughout this house, 15 restaurants and this place serving

:58:45. > :58:50.alcohol. 90% of recreational drug users are not a problem, 90% consume

:58:51. > :58:53.the drugs and get on with the life, only 10% is a problem so I cannot

:58:54. > :59:00.see why you would take alcohol is one problem and drugs as another.

:59:01. > :59:02.Within the drug strategy published it definitely recognises the

:59:03. > :59:08.relationship between people taking drugs and alcohol and our recovery

:59:09. > :59:14.programmes that will be geeky part is to understand the relationship

:59:15. > :59:18.between the two -- a key part and we have a whole series of actions

:59:19. > :59:25.around alcohol and public health in England and the NHS do a lot of work

:59:26. > :59:29.in that area also. We are very understanding of the point the

:59:30. > :59:33.gentleman is making, that will be part of our joint top integrated

:59:34. > :59:40.approach. Is that a further question?

:59:41. > :59:44.An enormous part of the harm done by drugs, particularly to young people,

:59:45. > :59:50.is done when young people don't know what it is they are actually taking.

:59:51. > :59:54.Shouldn't we, looking at harm prevention, be looking to make sure

:59:55. > :59:59.we can protect people and know what they are actually taking and doesn't

:00:00. > :00:03.that include looking at making drugs are available legally in order we

:00:04. > :00:13.can test and properly protect people? I think we need to be very

:00:14. > :00:18.clear, we do not banned substances that we do not have an evidence base

:00:19. > :00:24.that shows that are harmful to people's health. The recently put in

:00:25. > :00:27.these protections, without the psychoactive substances act, the

:00:28. > :00:32.Misuse of Drugs Act, is because the evidence base clearly shows these

:00:33. > :00:37.substances are harmful, there is no safe way you can take these

:00:38. > :00:42.products. That would be terrible to say to young people, to confuse them

:00:43. > :00:47.in some way, you can somehow safely take something that is a legal hi, I

:00:48. > :00:55.know how difficult it is to have these conversations with young

:00:56. > :00:58.people, I understand the world and the temptations that they are faced

:00:59. > :01:05.with what this is why it is so important we have very clear

:01:06. > :01:11.messages, very effective and invest in those education tools for

:01:12. > :01:16.teachers, legislating for this so every young person understands the

:01:17. > :01:19.risks of taking alcohol but also drugs, to make them more resilient

:01:20. > :01:26.and more able to resist this temptation. What I have clearly said

:01:27. > :01:31.to my own children, if you cannot go into books or any other reputable

:01:32. > :01:36.pharmacy and buy something then it is not going to be good for you. It

:01:37. > :01:45.is very important we have very simple and clear messages for young.

:01:46. > :01:50.She has been very generous with her pain but I have a challenger. She

:01:51. > :01:54.said it, that is safe levels of consumption of alcohol but that is

:01:55. > :01:59.what not what the Nice guidelines say. There is no safe level of

:02:00. > :02:03.alcohol. We allow it to be legally consumed and provide information and

:02:04. > :02:05.treatment and recovery but we do not criminalise people consuming alcohol

:02:06. > :02:12.and white will she not consider the draft I can show her, evidence

:02:13. > :02:16.available to show just how much more harmful alcohol is there any other

:02:17. > :02:20.drug. This debate today is about the drug

:02:21. > :02:27.strategy and I think I have been very generous and answering

:02:28. > :02:32.questions showing the relationship between drugs and alcohol but I am

:02:33. > :02:37.not going to be drawn into a wider debate about alcohol and the current

:02:38. > :02:43.legal framework around that because we are here today to talk about drug

:02:44. > :02:47.policy and can I just finished my point. Our policy is based on

:02:48. > :02:57.independent evidence and it is informed by the vast majority of

:02:58. > :03:00.backs up the position that we are backs up the position that we are

:03:01. > :03:10.taking. I am going to make some progress. Then I will answer some

:03:11. > :03:16.more questions. I just want to remind everyone we are not at all

:03:17. > :03:21.complacent at all, we definitely recognise the scale of the threat

:03:22. > :03:26.drugs continue to pose to our society, they do destroy lives, have

:03:27. > :03:32.very serious impacts on families and the cost to society is around ?10

:03:33. > :03:37.billion a year and a half of which relates to theft and criminal

:03:38. > :03:42.activity around drug usage. I want to go back to this very serious

:03:43. > :03:49.point about drug-related deaths. And how they increased by 10% in the

:03:50. > :03:54.last year. Using the best available evidence we understand in particular

:03:55. > :03:58.there is a cohort of heroin and crack cocaine users, all the people

:03:59. > :04:03.taking the substances for some time and that has had a very significant

:04:04. > :04:07.impact, not only on the mental health but their physical health.

:04:08. > :04:12.This is what we understand to be the driving factor behind it and why the

:04:13. > :04:17.strategy is so important, because using the evidence base we are able

:04:18. > :04:23.to segment better the treatment and recovery programme so we will be

:04:24. > :04:29.doing that with the firm hope by Taylor making the support they need

:04:30. > :04:32.is we will see fewer people dying and more people, even if they have

:04:33. > :04:36.been taking drugs for some time, able to get off them and have

:04:37. > :04:44.independent and fulfilled life we one for everyone. We are also very

:04:45. > :04:49.concerned about the synthetic camp and I on our streets, commonly known

:04:50. > :04:57.as Spies, the way they have been so ruthlessly targeted at the homeless

:04:58. > :05:02.population. That is something we are really working on alongside our

:05:03. > :05:06.homelessness reduction programmes and with mental health services and

:05:07. > :05:11.looking at young people who might be particularly vulnerable to these

:05:12. > :05:15.types of substances. What we want to do is make sure everybody has the

:05:16. > :05:23.access to the best possible recovery programme. The strategy builds on

:05:24. > :05:28.the three strands of the previous one, reducing demand, restricting

:05:29. > :05:30.supply and building recovery. It is all about a smarter partnership

:05:31. > :05:35.approach, both locally and nationally. And making these links

:05:36. > :05:41.between different Government departments and different Government

:05:42. > :05:47.ambitions. We want to reduce crime, we want to improve people's life

:05:48. > :05:51.chances, promote better health and tackle homelessness and we want to

:05:52. > :05:56.protect the most vulnerable people in our society. It sets out the

:05:57. > :06:01.actions covering the wider range of partners critical to successfully

:06:02. > :06:06.tackling drug misuse, including those in education, health and

:06:07. > :06:11.safeguarding criminal justice, housing and employment. The strategy

:06:12. > :06:16.also introduces a new forward strand of global action to bring out the

:06:17. > :06:22.critical importance of international cooperation. Madam Deputy Speaker,

:06:23. > :06:27.we really want to reduce the demand for drugs by acting early to prevent

:06:28. > :06:31.people, especially young people, from taking drugs in the first place

:06:32. > :06:36.and then preventing escalation to more harmful use. This starts with

:06:37. > :06:40.universal action to give all young people the resilience and confidence

:06:41. > :06:45.they need to make positive choices about their health and well-being,

:06:46. > :06:54.including resisting drugs. For example, we will be legislating in P

:06:55. > :06:58.H S E and expanding the alcohol and drugs education and prevention

:06:59. > :07:03.service for young people. This will be complemented by Mark targeted

:07:04. > :07:07.action to prevent drug misuse among particularly vulnerable groups,

:07:08. > :07:10.including young people who are not in education and employment, looked

:07:11. > :07:18.after children, offenders and the homeless. The targeted approach for

:07:19. > :07:24.evolving threats, such as performance enhancing drugs, drugs

:07:25. > :07:30.use, and sadly the misuse of prescription drugs. Tough

:07:31. > :07:34.enforcement is also a fundamental part of our drug strategy and will

:07:35. > :07:39.continue to bear down on those who seek to benefit from the misery

:07:40. > :07:43.caused to others. We will make a smarter approach to restricting the

:07:44. > :07:51.supply drugs, adapting our approach to changes in criminal activity, for

:07:52. > :07:57.example we have taken action to close down the mobile phone use by

:07:58. > :08:03.drugs who are organising dreadful exploitation of young people,

:08:04. > :08:09.selling drugs. Those mobile phone lines will be closed down. We are

:08:10. > :08:15.also using innovative data and technology disrupt to supply over

:08:16. > :08:20.the dark met, and our organised crime team and the National crime

:08:21. > :08:26.agency has a very important role to be playing here. I just want to take

:08:27. > :08:31.the minister back to investment and the idea that if this was treated as

:08:32. > :08:33.a health issue there would be more investment in drug treatment

:08:34. > :08:38.services. Isn't it the case in France were actually they do treat

:08:39. > :08:42.it as a health issue, the investment is less than as happened in this

:08:43. > :08:47.country, where we have treated it as a criminal justice and a health

:08:48. > :08:52.issue combined. I don't accept the premise of what the lady is saying.

:08:53. > :08:56.We don't take it in the way she is describing. We very much see this as

:08:57. > :09:04.a partnership, joined up Government approach. Health and recovery is the

:09:05. > :09:10.centre of her strategy, this is not a very interpretation to say this is

:09:11. > :09:14.led by Justice. It is about a whole system approach and recovery remains

:09:15. > :09:19.a vital part of the Government's approach. I will make more progress.

:09:20. > :09:23.We are determined to improve this approach for those dependent on

:09:24. > :09:26.drugs by raising the quality of treatment and improving the outcomes

:09:27. > :09:30.by ensuring people get the right interventions according to their

:09:31. > :09:34.needs. This means ensuring that individuals are able to access the

:09:35. > :09:39.full range of services to help them rebuild their lives, which may

:09:40. > :09:43.include mental health, housing, employment and training, and a lot

:09:44. > :09:49.of support to help stable family life, a life free from crime. I am

:09:50. > :09:53.pleased we are appointing a national recovery champion to drive progress

:09:54. > :09:57.by visiting different parts of the country, to identify good practice

:09:58. > :10:02.and ensure collaboration is really happening at a local level. We will

:10:03. > :10:06.also encourage partnership working and transparency by developing a new

:10:07. > :10:11.set of outcome measures, which bring further support to local areas

:10:12. > :10:14.through Public Health England. For the first time, Madam Deputy

:10:15. > :10:21.Speaker, we are also setting out global action and we already are

:10:22. > :10:25.taking a global lead in our work cycle active substance work. We are

:10:26. > :10:30.encouraging data exchange to give us a richer picture of international

:10:31. > :10:33.trends, and bringing in the global band and the most harmful new

:10:34. > :10:37.psychoactive substances and will continue our work through United

:10:38. > :10:43.Nations as we have our balanced evidence approach to drugs. This

:10:44. > :10:47.will help us by collaborating with partners around the world to have a

:10:48. > :10:52.better intelligence base and enable us to take better action. I am

:10:53. > :10:57.hoping that members will see this is a truly cross Government strategy,

:10:58. > :11:01.which requires the commitment of many departments coming together.

:11:02. > :11:04.The Home Secretary will be establishing a new drug strategy

:11:05. > :11:08.board, I will be a member of, and this will include members of all the

:11:09. > :11:15.key Government departments, Public Health England, national policing,

:11:16. > :11:21.and then we can all plan together to implement the strategy and hold each

:11:22. > :11:24.other to account. I am confident this strategy is grounded in the

:11:25. > :11:29.best available evidence, we consulted extensively with key

:11:30. > :11:33.partners working in drugs deals and I am sure it is going to make a

:11:34. > :11:38.lasting difference. But we do know there is no easy way to tackle drugs

:11:39. > :11:43.and the causes and behind that the cause, and we need to be much more

:11:44. > :11:47.to do this. I think that our strategy is flexible enough that

:11:48. > :11:55.with the new emerging threats then we will be able to respond to them.

:11:56. > :12:01.Finally, Madam Deputy Speaker, I think that by working together

:12:02. > :12:04.across Government, locally and nationally, we can deliver the sea

:12:05. > :12:13.for a healthier Britain it free from harm of drugs that we all want to

:12:14. > :12:22.see. The question is that this House has considered drug policy. Everyone

:12:23. > :12:30.in this chamber news that drug abuse casts a long shadow over our

:12:31. > :12:35.society. Whether it is the many thousands of crimes committed by

:12:36. > :12:40.drug users seeking to fund their habit, 45% of acquitted crime is

:12:41. > :12:45.committed by regular heroin or crack cocaine users. Whether it is the

:12:46. > :12:52.chaos caused by drug use in families and communities. Or whether it is

:12:53. > :12:59.the lives ruined or cut short by drug use, the scale of this problem

:13:00. > :13:04.is truly shocking. We now have the highest recorded level of mortality

:13:05. > :13:09.from drugs misuse since records began. There are a record number of

:13:10. > :13:13.deaths from morphine or a heroine and a recogniser is of deaths from

:13:14. > :13:18.cocaine abuse. Under this Government, the UK has become the

:13:19. > :13:21.drugs overdose capital. According to the European monitoring centre for

:13:22. > :13:31.drug and drug addiction, one in three of Europe's overdose deaths

:13:32. > :13:36.occur in the UK. That is roughly ten families a day to read as a result

:13:37. > :13:41.of illegal drugs more than in traffic accidents. We have an

:13:42. > :13:50.overwhelming economic, moral and public health case for examining

:13:51. > :13:56.this country's drug problem. We welcome this publication of the 217

:13:57. > :14:01.drug strategy, even though it is two years after the Government's

:14:02. > :14:06.self-imposed deadline. Having waited nearly two years for this, we have

:14:07. > :14:12.to confess to being disappointed. Let us remember what has happened

:14:13. > :14:17.along the way, drug rehabilitation centres have been closed, budgets to

:14:18. > :14:22.tackle drug abuse have been cut, key services such as the NHS are under

:14:23. > :14:26.increasing pressure, and there have been cuts to police officers and

:14:27. > :14:32.border force guards by the thousands. So in the face of

:14:33. > :14:38.constrained resources, it is not clear how much of an impact this

:14:39. > :14:42.strategy, which has much to welcome in principle, will actually have,

:14:43. > :14:49.because we know officials strategy is always included reducing demand,

:14:50. > :14:53.increasing awareness and education, restricting supply, improving

:14:54. > :14:58.treatment and recovery, so these elements, although very important,

:14:59. > :15:02.are not new. The Government's recognition of evidence -based

:15:03. > :15:05.treatment is welcome, but what stakeholders want to know and what

:15:06. > :15:10.families and communities suffering from drug abuse up and down the

:15:11. > :15:15.country want to know is whether this strategy is not just older methods

:15:16. > :15:20.in a shiny package. We frequently use the term war on drugs, so I ask

:15:21. > :15:25.the Minister, how exactly do we expect to win a war with reduced

:15:26. > :15:33.forces and resources on the front line? When responsible dot-mac

:15:34. > :15:38.response body was transferred from the NHS to local authorities in 2013

:15:39. > :15:42.this was a good idea in principle. Local authorities were much better

:15:43. > :15:48.placed in a central Government is to facilitate cooperation between drug

:15:49. > :15:52.and alcohol services, local police, social work, youth work, education,

:15:53. > :15:56.housing and other stakeholders, but sadly local authorities gained these

:15:57. > :16:03.new responsibilities at a time of bone crunching pressure on their

:16:04. > :16:06.budgets. This transferred responsibility also meant an end to

:16:07. > :16:14.ring fenced budgets for drug treatment. Local governments... I

:16:15. > :16:18.agree with what my right honourable friend as saying, but I also

:16:19. > :16:22.wondered whether she thinks that with the transferred to local

:16:23. > :16:26.authorities for this responsibility, the Government missed a trick by not

:16:27. > :16:30.making clear that the police and crime commissioners of the criminal

:16:31. > :16:33.justice system should sit on health and well-being board so the input

:16:34. > :16:39.can be given a red drug and alcohol treatment services? My honourable

:16:40. > :16:43.friend is exactly right, because if the purpose of transferring

:16:44. > :16:50.responsibility to local authorities they should be bringing together all

:16:51. > :16:58.the stakeholders, including police, crime commissioners and the local

:16:59. > :17:04.police. Will she condemn the large number of Labour local authorities

:17:05. > :17:08.who in 2013 privatised they are drugs service and dug it out of the

:17:09. > :17:11.NHS and give it to private providers, including my own

:17:12. > :17:17.Nottinghamshire and vast number of others across the country. Does she

:17:18. > :17:23.have a position which stops them from doing this? It is unfortunate

:17:24. > :17:27.how many authorities, including Labour authorities, privatise these

:17:28. > :17:31.services and by privatising them you necessarily make it harder to

:17:32. > :17:34.achieve the coordination and cooperation which is the whole point

:17:35. > :17:39.of setting these services with the local authorities in the first

:17:40. > :17:45.place. Local authorities have faced unprecedented cuts to the funding,

:17:46. > :17:52.anything from 25 to 40% of the entire budget. Is it any wonder that

:17:53. > :17:57.drug related deaths are increasing? When local authorities don't have

:17:58. > :18:04.the funds necessary for comprehensive treatment programmes.

:18:05. > :18:10.I am grateful. She has talked about the war on drugs and how it has been

:18:11. > :18:13.undermined by a lack of resources. Does she feel just increasing the

:18:14. > :18:18.resources on the war on drugs or dishy favour a more enlightened

:18:19. > :18:20.approach which involves decriminalisation, potential

:18:21. > :18:27.regulation of cannabis markets? So that we take the criminals out of

:18:28. > :18:31.the market altogether. I am grateful to the honourable gentleman for his

:18:32. > :18:39.intervention. I think you can't have a meaningful strategy on drug abuse

:18:40. > :18:46.without looking at the resources. I will be the first to say that it is

:18:47. > :18:51.a more complex question than simply providing more money. To give an

:18:52. > :18:55.overview of what local authorities are facing, Barnsley has cut its

:18:56. > :19:03.drug and alcohol service by more than a third, from 2015 to 2016, 17.

:19:04. > :19:07.Some services will be unavailable and key drugs practitioners will be

:19:08. > :19:12.made redundant. Staffordshire Council was forced to make cuts of

:19:13. > :19:17.45% to its drug and alcohol treatment budget over the past two

:19:18. > :19:22.years due to its local commissioning group pulling what was expected to

:19:23. > :19:26.be ?50 million of NHS funding. And Middlesbrough, which sadly has one

:19:27. > :19:31.of the highest level of deaths from heroin, cut its budget by 1 million

:19:32. > :19:38.last year. When the Home Office announced these policies, it said,

:19:39. > :19:44.correctly, that for every pound spent on public health ?2 50 is

:19:45. > :19:51.saved. But instead of governments helping local authorities, to follow

:19:52. > :19:54.this logic, they have obliged local authorities to pursue short-term

:19:55. > :19:58.cuts. But some local authorities have tried, some have been

:19:59. > :20:04.innovative in seeking efficiencies in a public health budget. The

:20:05. > :20:07.reality is that too many are looking at significant reductions to

:20:08. > :20:13.services and even privatising some services. Because when it comes to

:20:14. > :20:19.public health, the Government talks a good talk but doesn't follow

:20:20. > :20:25.through with the resources. I note with dismay that in this strategy

:20:26. > :20:29.there is nothing about providing more resources for local authorities

:20:30. > :20:36.who, after raw, on the front line of any strategy against drug use.

:20:37. > :20:43.Will my friend take an intervention? Thank you very much. Bearing in mind

:20:44. > :20:49.the figures you have set out that for every pound spent on public

:20:50. > :20:52.health there is a ?2 50 benefit to the public purse, does my honourable

:20:53. > :20:58.friend not agree that the overall cuts to local authorities' of health

:20:59. > :21:02.budgets of ?85 million are actually a false economy that are not serving

:21:03. > :21:06.our communities, or even Arixtra cap?

:21:07. > :21:14.I think the cuts to public health are disastrous. The Treasury clawed

:21:15. > :21:22.back funds that had been promised. It was an extraordinary example of

:21:23. > :21:24.short-term thinking. So, The King's Fund has shown that local

:21:25. > :21:30.authorities have been forced to spend more than 5% less on public

:21:31. > :21:37.health initiatives this year than in 2014. Tackling drug misuse in adults

:21:38. > :21:44.will face a 5.5% cut, of more than 22 million. So until the government

:21:45. > :21:47.puts its money where its mouth is on the drugs strategy, they will have

:21:48. > :21:51.to accept that some stakeholders remain sceptical. There was an

:21:52. > :21:56.interesting discussion earlier in this debate about alcohol and

:21:57. > :22:02.ministers seem to struggle with the notion that alcohol is actually a

:22:03. > :22:10.drug. But the truth about alcohol is that in absolute terms it causes

:22:11. > :22:17.more harm than any illegal drug. It is shocking to me that this strategy

:22:18. > :22:21.just manages two paragraphs on alcohol for what is a major killer

:22:22. > :22:26.in Britain today. Professor Ian Jones, the chair of the alcohol

:22:27. > :22:30.health Alliance UK said, we need a dedicated strategy on alcohol which

:22:31. > :22:37.recognises the breadth of harm done by alcohol in the UK. Alcohol was

:22:38. > :22:41.responsible for over 26,000 deaths a year, over 1 million hospital

:22:42. > :22:47.admissions, it costs the economy between 27 and 52 billion in 2016

:22:48. > :22:53.and in 2015 8000 casualties through drink-driving alone. He went on, the

:22:54. > :22:56.time has come for the government to take an evidence -based approach to

:22:57. > :23:04.controlling the supply and reducing the demand for a legal drug which is

:23:05. > :23:11.sold on virtually every street corner, sometimes at pocket money

:23:12. > :23:17.prizes. Portugal de penalised drugs in 2001 and the result was they

:23:18. > :23:23.halved the number of heroin users in the country and the number of deaths

:23:24. > :23:27.has gone down from 80 a year to 16 a year. In the 30 years my honourable

:23:28. > :23:32.friend and I have been in this House, can she think that any

:23:33. > :23:36.initiative by any government that produced a result which reduced drug

:23:37. > :23:44.harm in that spectacular way? Diane Abbott. My honourable friend is a

:23:45. > :23:47.passionate proponent of decriminalisation, and I think he

:23:48. > :23:54.makes his own case. On the question of legal highs, the strategy claimed

:23:55. > :23:58.that the act has been successful in stopping the proliferation of legal

:23:59. > :24:03.highs. It is true that the first six months after the act came into force

:24:04. > :24:07.nearly 500 people were arrested. However, as various drug charities

:24:08. > :24:11.suspected the month despite these measures, demand for these

:24:12. > :24:16.substances continues to increase. So-called legal highs have simply

:24:17. > :24:21.been pushed into the black market, or onto the Internet, which I

:24:22. > :24:25.suspect is why the government has in the same breath claimed that it will

:24:26. > :24:31.focus on eliminating the vast range of problems these substances cause.

:24:32. > :24:39.This exposes what we on this side of the House made clear during the

:24:40. > :24:42.passage of Psycho active substances act, legislation is only effective

:24:43. > :24:48.if there is a wider strategy in place. The strategy has now been

:24:49. > :24:51.produced, meanwhile legal highs are more dangerous than ever, affecting

:24:52. > :24:58.the poorest and most vulnerable in society. It remains the case that

:24:59. > :25:08.too many people, particularly women, go into prisons without a drug habit

:25:09. > :25:11.and come out with a drug habit. I believe that ministers working with

:25:12. > :25:21.the Justice Department could do a great deal more to make our presence

:25:22. > :25:25.drug-free zones. It is an elementary issue but it is one the government

:25:26. > :25:31.continues to fail to address. I'm sure most members were as alarmed as

:25:32. > :25:34.I was last year to see CCTV footage of drones making deliveries to a

:25:35. > :25:42.prison, only to find that this is the favoured manner of getting

:25:43. > :25:46.contraband in the shape of phones and drugs and weapons into our

:25:47. > :25:49.presence. There are no easy answers but if there aren't enough guards to

:25:50. > :25:55.guard the prisoners, I find it hard to believe they can devote much time

:25:56. > :25:58.to searching each other, or taking down drug mule drones. The Shadow

:25:59. > :26:01.Secretary of State for Justice has repeatedly said the decimation of

:26:02. > :26:04.prisoner numbers under the Conservatives is a key reason for

:26:05. > :26:10.the government's inability to stem the growing influx of drugs into

:26:11. > :26:14.presence. So, I asked what specific extra staffing resources will be

:26:15. > :26:19.given to prisons to enable officers and the prison authorities to meet

:26:20. > :26:24.the objectives of the new drugs strategy. The Minister referred to

:26:25. > :26:28.global issues and the International war on drugs. But the Minister will

:26:29. > :26:36.be aware that the international war on drugs is largely regarded to be

:26:37. > :26:42.failing, and we would seek to hear from ministers how they would make

:26:43. > :26:46.the international war on drugs more of a success that has been in the

:26:47. > :26:51.past. There are some aspects of the strategy we welcome. We think it's

:26:52. > :26:56.excellent that greater efforts are going to be made to provide

:26:57. > :27:00.effective evidence -based drug prevention education to young

:27:01. > :27:03.people. As a parent, I think most parents are unable to keep up with

:27:04. > :27:11.the kinds of drugs that young people are seeing nowadays. On prisoners,

:27:12. > :27:16.it's very important, as I said earlier, that they are given more

:27:17. > :27:18.help for recovery, their progress monitored closely, they need to be

:27:19. > :27:28.clearer and more explicit guidelines on the value of opiates treatments

:27:29. > :27:32.properly implemented which allowed people with opiate dependence to

:27:33. > :27:35.live their lives and prevent overdoses. Another important aspect

:27:36. > :27:41.of the strategy is when it talks about people who slip through the

:27:42. > :27:47.cracks of a dual diagnosis from mental health and problem substance

:27:48. > :27:50.abuse. I am glad that the strategy, at least in principle, wants those

:27:51. > :27:55.people to be better catered for rather than shunted between services

:27:56. > :28:05.reluctant to take on complex and demanding cases. There is a tendency

:28:06. > :28:11.to regard drug use and drug abuse as a personal failure. We on this side

:28:12. > :28:18.of house would rather it as a societal failure. We on this side of

:28:19. > :28:25.the House say that any drugs strategy has to look at the broader

:28:26. > :28:33.picture, including what is happening in society, including the resources

:28:34. > :28:36.available. So, on this side of the House, whilst we welcome the drugs

:28:37. > :28:44.strategy in principle, we would query whether the resources or the

:28:45. > :28:52.will is there to make its very worthy aim is real and manifest.

:28:53. > :28:56.Crispin Blunt. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I suspect I and the

:28:57. > :29:03.honourable gentleman for Norfolk North will have dual sympathies for

:29:04. > :29:07.the -- my honourable friend in the presentation she's had to make the

:29:08. > :29:12.strategy within the bounds of what she has had to deliver that strategy

:29:13. > :29:16.and present it to the House. She presented it with candour. My only

:29:17. > :29:24.concern is she really believes in the strategy that she is presenting,

:29:25. > :29:28.because I am concerned that, and as I will come onto in the substance of

:29:29. > :29:31.my remarks, is that the evidence around the world is that our

:29:32. > :29:39.approach that is within this strategy is profoundly mistaken, and

:29:40. > :29:42.are simply not working. I rather suspect it's the speech from the

:29:43. > :29:45.Right Honourable lady from the front bench that perhaps will have

:29:46. > :29:49.disappointed the people behind her the most. Because, here is an

:29:50. > :29:53.opportunity for the opposition really to engage in thinking in this

:29:54. > :30:01.area and to persuade us to think about what the actual evidence is

:30:02. > :30:06.from around the world, and I rather fear the Right Honourable lady opted

:30:07. > :30:09.for the safety first routine and will have avoided any disagreeable

:30:10. > :30:13.headlines in the Daily Mail and everything else about the iteration

:30:14. > :30:17.of the opposition's drugs policy. I think it's one of the reasons why I

:30:18. > :30:22.was going to come on to say we need a space where we can properly

:30:23. > :30:26.consider this, so that the kernel of my argument is that what we need to

:30:27. > :30:35.assess our drugs policy is a royal commission to get it out and to get

:30:36. > :30:38.it into the right place. Madam Deputy Speaker, 1971 President Nixon

:30:39. > :30:44.declared war on drugs, and nearly half a century later I defy anyone

:30:45. > :30:48.to disagree there has been a global public policy catastrophe. We

:30:49. > :30:53.desperately need a new approach, a completely different strategy, and

:30:54. > :30:57.whilst I welcome the emphasis the government strategy puts on

:30:58. > :31:01.improving treatment and recovery for users, the strategy rehearses the

:31:02. > :31:04.same failed arguments for probation, criminalisation which have patently

:31:05. > :31:09.failed. The measure of that family is spelt out in the strategy itself,

:31:10. > :31:12.which tells us that in England and Wales the number of deaths from drug

:31:13. > :31:20.misuse is registered in 2015 increased by 10.3% to 2479 following

:31:21. > :31:24.an increase of 14.9% the previous year and 19.6% the year before that.

:31:25. > :31:30.Deaths involving heroin, which is involved in around half the deaths

:31:31. > :31:34.more than doubled from 2012-2015, echoing the critique that the Right

:31:35. > :31:40.Honourable lady made. It also informs us that each year in the

:31:41. > :31:44.United Kingdom drugs cost society ?10.7 billion in policing, health

:31:45. > :31:48.care and crime with drug fuelled theft alone costing 6 billion a

:31:49. > :31:52.year. Well, I'm delighted the government have published these

:31:53. > :31:57.figures. When I was the Minister for criminal Justice in between 2010 and

:31:58. > :32:03.2012 the MoJ would not provide those numbers to me, either directly or

:32:04. > :32:07.via eight... In the end I got a former minister for drugs policy in

:32:08. > :32:10.the Home Office, Bob Ainsworth, to table a written parliamentary

:32:11. > :32:17.question to me as a way of trying to elicit these numbers out of the

:32:18. > :32:20.government. I find they are now on the public record and we can see

:32:21. > :32:24.what the actual cost of what we are dealing with in the failure of

:32:25. > :32:29.public policy in this area. I will give way. I'm grateful for the

:32:30. > :32:33.candour of his comments and the House respects him. Until 68 when we

:32:34. > :32:40.had the British system widely known throughout the world as the British

:32:41. > :32:42.system, GP prescribing drug replacements we didn't have anything

:32:43. > :32:47.like the number of deaths because the purity of the product was the

:32:48. > :32:51.issue and the cause of death is impurity and the differentiation of

:32:52. > :32:54.supplies. With the honourable gentleman agree with me that in the

:32:55. > :32:59.past it has been all most impossible to have a rational, sensible and

:33:00. > :33:02.sane debate on this subject and the 1968 legislation came about by a

:33:03. > :33:08.panicked reaction fuelled by the most reactionary forces? Would he

:33:09. > :33:11.accept, as a humble individual on these benches, my wholehearted

:33:12. > :33:13.support for his excellent idea that we consider this as a Royal

:33:14. > :33:16.commission, because frankly there is not a country in the world that

:33:17. > :33:20.doesn't have a drug problem and there are certainly no victory in

:33:21. > :33:24.the so-called war on drugs? I highly agree with the honourable

:33:25. > :33:28.gentleman's intervention. If the evidence of failure is key clear in

:33:29. > :33:33.the United Kingdom it is dramatically worse in the stomach

:33:34. > :33:36.other countries in the world. Even for the United Kingdom one has to

:33:37. > :33:42.only turn to Page 16 in the strategy where it makes clear that drugs are

:33:43. > :33:48.a significant threat to our national security. There is a way of dealing

:33:49. > :33:53.with this. Ever since Prohibition or criminalisation of illicit drug use

:33:54. > :33:56.was enshrined in the 1961 UN Convention on narcotic drugs, we

:33:57. > :34:01.have been fighting a losing battle to stem the global drugs trade. As

:34:02. > :34:05.increasingly recognised, especially in Latin America, where many leaders

:34:06. > :34:11.are crying out for their societies to be rescued from the malign

:34:12. > :34:13.fallout from a multibillion-dollar criminal industry, eradication,

:34:14. > :34:18.interdiction and criminalisation of consumption have failed. We have

:34:19. > :34:23.left the manufacture and supply in the hands of organised criminals and

:34:24. > :34:26.treated their victims, many of whom are vulnerable members of our

:34:27. > :34:33.society, many of whom will have mental illnesses, as criminals,

:34:34. > :34:38.unable or unwilling to seek medical help due to illegality, exclusion

:34:39. > :34:42.and stigma. I hope that Right Honourable lady is and gentlemen

:34:43. > :34:50.might reflect on the simple statistic that in the Mexican drug

:34:51. > :34:56.war between 2006 and 2013, 111,000 people died. That wasn't of drug

:34:57. > :35:01.consumption, that was in the war is over the control of this vast

:35:02. > :35:06.industry. And so, building on the work of the Latin American

:35:07. > :35:10.commission on drugs and democracy, convened by former presidents of

:35:11. > :35:14.Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, the global commission on drugs policy

:35:15. > :35:19.has opened a public discussion about the association between the drugs

:35:20. > :35:23.trade, violence and corruption and advocated a balanced, comprehensive

:35:24. > :35:24.and evidence -based debate on drugs and I will give way to the

:35:25. > :35:35.honourable gentleman. I am very grateful to the right

:35:36. > :35:41.honourable gentleman for giving way, and I agree with everything he said.

:35:42. > :35:44.He talked about the number of people who have lost their lives through

:35:45. > :35:50.violence in South America, but would he also agree that the policy in

:35:51. > :35:52.gender is violence in our own communities, particularly poor

:35:53. > :35:58.communities in this country, because the only way in which a supply to a

:35:59. > :36:02.particular community can be maintained is through the use of

:36:03. > :36:09.extreme violence. Doesn't this add to the case the much-needed reform?

:36:10. > :36:16.Unsurprisingly, I entirely agree with the honourable gentleman. I

:36:17. > :36:20.must declare an interest. I am grateful to my honourable friend

:36:21. > :36:24.giving way, I used to prosecute national level drug barons. I ask

:36:25. > :36:27.him this question, what on earth does he think these gun toting

:36:28. > :36:31.criminals who think nothing of shooting each other and the people

:36:32. > :36:39.who carry their drugs for them, what does he think are their reaction

:36:40. > :36:44.will be at the idea that drugs have been regulated? Does he really think

:36:45. > :36:50.that these awful people are suddenly going to become law-abiding

:36:51. > :36:53.citizens? I am going to come on to answer my honourable friend's point

:36:54. > :37:01.directly. We have set up the business model that they use. Why

:37:02. > :37:07.people go to the extent they do to kill so many people that they do to

:37:08. > :37:13.try to maintain control of this business. If I can go back to

:37:14. > :37:15.commending the global commission on drug policy, where they have

:37:16. > :37:27.advocated a balanced, and evidence to reduce the harm caused. It

:37:28. > :37:30.succeeded in getting the issue back on the international agenda last

:37:31. > :37:35.year with the United Nations General Assembly special session, but

:37:36. > :37:37.tragically progressive voices upholding prohibition and

:37:38. > :37:43.criminalisation stop the endorsement of a new approach. All the while,

:37:44. > :37:48.however, more and more countries are starting new policies, whilst we lag

:37:49. > :37:53.behind. Decriminalisation of personal possession is proving to

:37:54. > :37:58.have significant effect in reducing harm where it has been trialled. In

:37:59. > :38:01.Portugal, where the possession of small amounts of drugs has been

:38:02. > :38:08.deeply analysed since 2001, there is a clear political consensus behind

:38:09. > :38:12.the policy. It shows decriminalisation has not increased

:38:13. > :38:17.drug usage rates. In numerous categories, Portuguese usage rates

:38:18. > :38:20.are one of the lowest in the EU, in comparison to states with stringent

:38:21. > :38:25.commercialisation regimes. Drug-related pathology, such as

:38:26. > :38:28.sexually Guzman to disease and death from use have reduced dramatically

:38:29. > :38:32.as the governor did able to offer treatment programmes without having

:38:33. > :38:34.to drag users into the criminal justice system, where it becomes

:38:35. > :38:41.even harder to manage drug addiction. The focus is public

:38:42. > :38:46.health, penalties are used only if considered necessary, and

:38:47. > :38:50.productive. My honourable friend has been generous in allowing me to

:38:51. > :38:54.intervene. Again, my experience of the criminal court, we tried that

:38:55. > :39:01.experiment in this country when I think it was David Blunkett, forgive

:39:02. > :39:06.me if I have misremembered, but Labour Home Secretary, he downgraded

:39:07. > :39:10.cannabis. The impact on the ground in Magistrates' Courts up and down

:39:11. > :39:13.the country was terrible. We had young people coming into

:39:14. > :39:18.Magistrates' Courts with very severe mental health problems, and it was

:39:19. > :39:25.because of their use of cannabis. We tried it, and it's failed. It hasn't

:39:26. > :39:29.failed. If you are just one part of the system, and go from

:39:30. > :39:34.categorisation B to C with cannabis, it sends a message about usage to

:39:35. > :39:38.the rest. If the supply of cannabis is in the hands of people who are

:39:39. > :39:41.not going to tell you, I am not going to educate you as to the

:39:42. > :39:45.effect it will have on your mind, it is hardly surprising we see a

:39:46. > :39:50.massive increase in schizophrenia caused by the use of these drugs,

:39:51. > :39:52.because people do not know what they are buying, and you are not in a

:39:53. > :39:59.position to properly educate them about the consequences of their use.

:40:00. > :40:03.That is a public health issue here, about getting regulated supply into

:40:04. > :40:08.a place where you can educate people at the point of purchase. And I will

:40:09. > :40:14.come onto the relationship between the dealer and his interest in how

:40:15. > :40:27.he deals with his client base, and a regulated and licensed system. Being

:40:28. > :40:30.very much involved in David Blunkett's change in the

:40:31. > :40:35.categorisation of cannabis, everyone predicted an increase of cannabis

:40:36. > :40:40.when the classification was changed. It didn't happen. There was, in

:40:41. > :40:49.fact, a reduction in the use of cannabis when penalties were less.

:40:50. > :40:53.Contrary to all the expectations, the great argument in here is not

:40:54. > :41:00.the drugs killing people, prohibition is killing people.

:41:01. > :41:03.Whilst I am minded to agree with the honourable gentleman, after the

:41:04. > :41:07.argument of my honourable friend, and the government are putting

:41:08. > :41:12.forward in tried to send a message, we do need somewhere to be

:41:13. > :41:17.considered, and go for the evidence. It is very difficult to do in this

:41:18. > :41:23.charged environment, where you have the tabloid press who will seek to

:41:24. > :41:27.send aim message if one is perceived to be weak in this area in terms of

:41:28. > :41:30.public policy. And the hundreds of thousands of people across the world

:41:31. > :41:35.that are dying because this policy is in the wrong place globally, and

:41:36. > :41:40.I rather hope that a Royal commission here could assist the UK

:41:41. > :41:44.in getting a place, where based on evidence we can lead the

:41:45. > :41:48.international debate. As well as the decriminalisation of personal

:41:49. > :41:51.possession, we ought to consider the merits of a legal, regulated market,

:41:52. > :41:57.taking it out of the control of organised crime. A recent report

:41:58. > :42:02.makes the case for a legal regular cannabis market in the UK to improve

:42:03. > :42:06.support, guidance and access to treatment for people experiencing

:42:07. > :42:11.problematic cannabis use. They found the current illegal and unregulated

:42:12. > :42:17.market means cannabis users are hidden, fumbling around in the dark

:42:18. > :42:26.to find them. Among people showing signs of cannabis dependence, only

:42:27. > :42:30.56% have received help. 5.5% have received this in the past six

:42:31. > :42:35.months. The report says a regulated market would provide opportunities

:42:36. > :42:39.for more public guidance, packaging controls, products which vary in

:42:40. > :42:42.potency, research into cannabis culture and consumption to improve

:42:43. > :42:48.interventions, and reduce stigma to enable access to services. I am

:42:49. > :42:51.sorry to say, Madam Deputy Speaker, that drug dealers reading the

:42:52. > :42:56.strategy and watching this debate will simply laugh at us. We are

:42:57. > :43:02.doing nothing to undermine their basic business model. By ensuring

:43:03. > :43:06.supply is criminal, we have created a highly lucrative criminal black

:43:07. > :43:11.market for the distribution and sale of drugs, worth an estimated 4.6

:43:12. > :43:15.billion per year in the United Kingdom. The UN office on drugs and

:43:16. > :43:24.crime, and Europol, estimate the global market is $435 billion a

:43:25. > :43:27.year. That is an astonishing amount of money, and it is hardly

:43:28. > :43:32.surprisingly people arm themselves and fight, and kill people than to

:43:33. > :43:38.try to maintain their share of that market. Drugs are believed to

:43:39. > :43:41.account for some 20% of all crime proceeds, with around 50% of all

:43:42. > :43:46.organised crime routes to be involved in drugs, and half of

:43:47. > :43:53.transnational crime proceeds derived from the drugs trade. Hundredfold

:43:54. > :43:59.increases in price from production to retail, exploited customers,

:44:00. > :44:02.trapped in addiction, having been encouraged and incentivised thereby

:44:03. > :44:07.the criminal dealer turned to crime to pay the inflated prices. Those

:44:08. > :44:12.using heroin, cocaine or crack cocaine are estimated to commit

:44:13. > :44:17.between a third and a half of all because it of crime. Market

:44:18. > :44:23.exclusivity in their domains lead to further appalling gang violence.

:44:24. > :44:28.That is only part of the story. The uncomfortable truth is that respect

:44:29. > :44:34.for our laws is diminished when large swathes of the population can

:44:35. > :44:37.seen note difference between their recreational use of drugs, and their

:44:38. > :44:43.recreational use of drugs and alcohol. Prohibition was an

:44:44. > :44:51.acknowledged public policy disaster when trialled in the United States

:44:52. > :44:55.in the 1920s. It became a benign regulated monopoly supply instead.

:44:56. > :45:00.It would smash the drug dealers's business model. Proceeds from sales

:45:01. > :45:04.or taxation of sales would pay for treatment and public health

:45:05. > :45:09.education. We would protect people because they would know what they

:45:10. > :45:15.were buying. Instead of more of the same, we should be brave enough to

:45:16. > :45:19.be at the forefront of international thinking. Legislation, licensing and

:45:20. > :45:24.regulation may be radical ideas for the United Kingdom, forms of

:45:25. > :45:30.decriminalisation are already being widely put into practice in Europe

:45:31. > :45:32.and North and Latin America. And the merits of other countries's

:45:33. > :45:39.approaches and the extensive work of the global commission on drug policy

:45:40. > :45:43.warrant proper consideration in British public debate and policy

:45:44. > :45:48.making. A Royal commission would be able to do that. It would be the

:45:49. > :45:51.most appropriate way to fully and carefully consider the complex

:45:52. > :45:56.issues involved, and all the policy options, exploring best practice

:45:57. > :46:05.abroad, and responding to increasing calls here and internationally for a

:46:06. > :46:11.truly new strategy. Martindale. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It

:46:12. > :46:16.is great to take part in this debate. It affects every community,

:46:17. > :46:22.class and Creed in the country. Its associated criminal and anti-social

:46:23. > :46:27.behaviours have been a blight for far too long. Just last week, I

:46:28. > :46:30.conducted a home visit to a distraught family coming to terms

:46:31. > :46:34.with the tragic loss of a young man from drug misuse. A thoroughly

:46:35. > :46:38.decent family, which had tried to get help for their loved one, which

:46:39. > :46:43.were not successful in time. I will not go into specific details, but a

:46:44. > :46:46.grieving mother and sister explained the changes they observed and about

:46:47. > :46:50.the loved one stealing from other family members and the general

:46:51. > :46:55.anti-social behaviour which ensued. That is not an uncommon story across

:46:56. > :46:58.any of our communities. A set of circumstances which brought home to

:46:59. > :47:02.me why on one hand we need to aggressively tackle forces of

:47:03. > :47:06.organised crime from making millions, and enforcement against

:47:07. > :47:11.the dealers. It is my opinion that that is a key strategy in the war on

:47:12. > :47:19.drugs. We need to address the health and users sympathetically. Rather

:47:20. > :47:22.than punitive punishments. Once criminalised, these victims can

:47:23. > :47:27.often face further life challenges and stigmatisation, often resulting

:47:28. > :47:31.in users finding it harder to recover and move on from problems of

:47:32. > :47:36.addiction. In some cases, even trapping users in a further

:47:37. > :47:39.self-destructive cycle. As honourable and right honourable

:47:40. > :47:44.members will be aware, health and justice, which are obviously key

:47:45. > :47:56.areas of joint up drugs policy, and areas devolved to Scotland.

:47:57. > :48:02.Regulation of drugs was -- the Minister herself referred to a joint

:48:03. > :48:11.policy, easier to achieve in a Scottish context if we had input in

:48:12. > :48:16.the matter. We continue to work to improve and actions against drugs

:48:17. > :48:20.misuse in Scotland. It is estimated that drugs misuse costs society ?3.5

:48:21. > :48:24.billion a year in Scotland. This is a similar figure to the impact from

:48:25. > :48:31.alcohol misuse, which is estimated to cost ?3.6 billion a year, and

:48:32. > :48:36.combined it around ?1800 for every adult in Scotland. In 2008, the SNP

:48:37. > :48:41.published the current national drugs policy the Scotland and that set a

:48:42. > :48:44.new direction for tackling drug misuse based on treatment services,

:48:45. > :48:53.promoting recovery, a strategy that continues to receive cross-party

:48:54. > :49:00.support, and drug-taking in the drug publishing is falling. The approach

:49:01. > :49:04.taken recognises the importance of supporting families, and the number

:49:05. > :49:09.of families support organisations across Scotland is growing. In

:49:10. > :49:12.addition to this, a number of national organisations have been

:49:13. > :49:15.established or commissions to deliver the strategy, including the

:49:16. > :49:21.Scottish recovery consortium, which was established to drive apropos it

:49:22. > :49:33.- drive and promote. And the Scottish Government also works with

:49:34. > :49:38.Scotland's 30 alcohol and drug partnerships bringing together local

:49:39. > :49:42.partners, local authorities, police and voluntary agencies. And they are

:49:43. > :49:45.responsible for developing local strategies for tackling problems,

:49:46. > :49:49.alcohol and drug use, and promoting recovery based on an assessment of

:49:50. > :49:54.local needs. A good example of this is the current Glasgow City health

:49:55. > :50:00.and social care partnership oppose all is, which proposed a pilot of

:50:01. > :50:03.safer drug consumption and heroin assisted treatment in the City

:50:04. > :50:11.centre. In its latest iteration of the business case presented to the

:50:12. > :50:16.HSC P on the 21st June, 2017, facility is designed to service the

:50:17. > :50:21.needs of an estimated 400-500 people in the City centre and experience

:50:22. > :50:25.high levels of harm. In particular, it is estimated and anticipated the

:50:26. > :50:32.facility will significantly reduce the risks of further outbreaks of

:50:33. > :50:36.blood bone viruses. In 2015, there were 157 drug-related deaths in

:50:37. > :50:39.Glasgow City Council area alone. Up from 114 the previous year. 132 of

:50:40. > :50:49.these deaths involved opiates. The rising recent deaths is

:50:50. > :50:53.concerning and is not unique to Glasgow. I'm grateful to transform

:50:54. > :50:57.drug policy foundation for their briefing which informed that around

:50:58. > :51:01.a third of your's drug induced deaths were in the UK so we all need

:51:02. > :51:04.to address this challenge. The British Medical Association and

:51:05. > :51:07.advisory council on the misuse of drugs indicated their support for

:51:08. > :51:12.pursuing safer drug consumption proposals in order to promote a

:51:13. > :51:15.reduction. Wallace remains a matter for authorities in Glasgow to take

:51:16. > :51:19.forward at this time the Scottish Government will subsequently

:51:20. > :51:22.consider any formal proposal brought to its attention for consideration.

:51:23. > :51:37.As I stated earlier the misuse of drugs act 1971, any proposal is

:51:38. > :51:40.incumbent on the authorities. I think drugs policy should be

:51:41. > :51:50.devolved to Scotland to allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate on

:51:51. > :51:54.this and other issues. The Scottish Government has followed the Tories'

:51:55. > :51:57.approach on recovery -based treatments as opposed to NHS

:51:58. > :52:03.treatments, why would devolving power make a Halfpenny of difference

:52:04. > :52:08.when all the SNP has done is adopt Tory policies and the consequential

:52:09. > :52:12.failures? I thank the honourable member for making that point. The

:52:13. > :52:15.point I am making is it would be another tool in the armoury that

:52:16. > :52:19.would allow future drugs policy to go in different directions. We can

:52:20. > :52:22.only work within the constraints we have at present. My own party

:52:23. > :52:27.conference backed the decriminalisation of cannabis for

:52:28. > :52:30.medicinal use of last year over this issue is currently reserved to

:52:31. > :52:35.Westminster and presents them prevents us going down that lane for

:52:36. > :52:38.sub a few years ago a study found that peer support was an important

:52:39. > :52:41.part of the recovery process. It also found that despite the

:52:42. > :52:46.pressures, most families wait two years before seeking help, delay

:52:47. > :52:48.which can prove very fatal as evidenced by my constituents I

:52:49. > :52:55.mentioned earlier. Their loved one had been using for about six months.

:52:56. > :52:59.Within my area we have a wide range of support services for sub in

:53:00. > :53:03.Linlithgow we have a first step cafe run by people who are in recovery

:53:04. > :53:07.and are helping others living with the effects of addiction. And across

:53:08. > :53:12.West Lothian we have the social work addictions team known as Slot

:53:13. > :53:15.supporting those affected by drugs row Karl plants for their own

:53:16. > :53:21.recovery and promotes go focus work to promote positive changes and the

:53:22. > :53:24.Falkirk area we have addiction support and counselling assisting

:53:25. > :53:29.with community rehabilitation and recovery. In conclusion undoubtedly

:53:30. > :53:33.for the users, their families and local communities, recovery is the

:53:34. > :53:39.key but it cannot work on its own. It must be coupled with education of

:53:40. > :53:41.the dangers, harm reduction command also public health and improving

:53:42. > :53:47.access to treatment and reducing waiting times. In short, the issue

:53:48. > :53:51.is no longer simply a law Wonga Molder tackling supply of drugs and

:53:52. > :53:53.related anti-social behaviours I suspect remain a permanent feature

:53:54. > :54:00.of our societies for a considerable time to come. Thank you, Madam

:54:01. > :54:04.Deputy Speaker. I welcome this strategy with its emphasis on

:54:05. > :54:09.effectively treating and even more importantly preventing substance

:54:10. > :54:12.misuse problems. I welcome the acknowledgement that government at

:54:13. > :54:16.national and local levels has a clear responsibility to help improve

:54:17. > :54:20.public health regarding addictions. Indeed, because these often affect

:54:21. > :54:26.the most vulnerable in society this is a matter of social justice. I

:54:27. > :54:29.welcome that the strategy recognises this and the clear and saddling

:54:30. > :54:33.spitting substance misuse and a range of other issues, and the

:54:34. > :54:38.performance at school and then exclusion from the job market,

:54:39. > :54:42.domestic abuse, mental ill-health, sexual exploitation, homelessness,

:54:43. > :54:45.imprisonment. I welcome the recognition of a need for a joined

:54:46. > :54:52.up partnership approach to address these issues. Can I employ local

:54:53. > :54:56.governments, when providing this, to ensure that as some authorities are

:54:57. > :55:00.now effectively doing, there is one lead caseworker providing this to

:55:01. > :55:05.the individuals who need support, not several different social workers

:55:06. > :55:10.in several different agencies who provide this in a confusing mix. I

:55:11. > :55:15.heard of one family that was having to cope, yes, Cope is the right

:55:16. > :55:19.word, with 26 different local agencies trying to help them. I

:55:20. > :55:23.particularly welcome the strategy's focus for helping the most

:55:24. > :55:27.vulnerable young people, those in care on the streets, in the criminal

:55:28. > :55:31.justice system, at risk of entering it, those with young families, young

:55:32. > :55:35.girls at risk of entering prostitution. We know how pimps will

:55:36. > :55:41.use drugs to enslave them, particularly young girls who have

:55:42. > :55:45.been trafficked. I welcome the strategy's priority of helping them,

:55:46. > :55:51.these young people who often have never had a first chance in life and

:55:52. > :55:56.the strategy's approach to give them the chance they need to live a life

:55:57. > :56:00.of self-worth free of the devastating impact of substance

:56:01. > :56:03.abuse and misuse. I welcome the ministers today saying we must look

:56:04. > :56:09.at mental health issues and substance misuse together, and I

:56:10. > :56:12.particularly welcome the recognition of the key role that families and

:56:13. > :56:20.parents can play in this respect in the treatment and prevention of

:56:21. > :56:27.substance misuse. Family breakdown, or if not that, chaotic or

:56:28. > :56:31.dysfunctional family relationships must be one of the key reasons, if

:56:32. > :56:33.not the key reason why young people seek comfort in drugs, so I welcome

:56:34. > :56:40.the fact that the act supports the the fact that the act supports the

:56:41. > :56:43.need to help families in their own right with the suggestion that

:56:44. > :56:46.evidence -based psychological independence stomach intervention

:56:47. > :56:51.should be available locally and local areas should ensure that

:56:52. > :56:54.support needs of families and carers affected by drug misuse are

:56:55. > :57:02.appropriately met. This echoes a comment piece I wrote this week for

:57:03. > :57:04.the House's magazine about young people's mental health problems

:57:05. > :57:09.which is that we need to do much more to help strengthen their family

:57:10. > :57:13.relationships and offer holistic family support, engaging their

:57:14. > :57:17.parents, carers or wider families. To do this there needs to be,

:57:18. > :57:21.however, a substantial growth in the number of people trained in the

:57:22. > :57:25.local authority services to provide a relationship and family support,

:57:26. > :57:31.to provide appropriate counselling and help for young people in such

:57:32. > :57:35.difficulties. I'm glad that the strategy recognises the realities of

:57:36. > :57:41.harm is experienced by families of substance abusers are significant

:57:42. > :57:47.and that they need help too. Can I turn now to the issue specifically

:57:48. > :57:52.of alcohol misuse? I am chair of the all-party Parliamentary group on

:57:53. > :57:55.alcohol harm and I do recognise that in the report and within the

:57:56. > :57:58.strategy, the recommendation for joined up action on alcohol and

:57:59. > :58:04.drugs and the areas of strategy do apply to both. I do believe that as

:58:05. > :58:12.we have heard this afternoon in the chamber we do need to do more. Just

:58:13. > :58:19.the extent of the harm caused by alcohol can be seen in the following

:58:20. > :58:28.statistics. In 2015 there were 2479 deaths from drugs misuse. In the

:58:29. > :58:34.same year, 23,000 people died from alcohol related deaths. Drug deaths

:58:35. > :58:39.are only 10% of the alcohol number. So, there really is a challenge on

:58:40. > :58:45.ensuring that we provide sufficient resources, and a clear government

:58:46. > :58:49.alcohol strategy. The current strategy is old and much has changed

:58:50. > :58:52.in that time and yet sadly much has stayed the same. One of the things I

:58:53. > :58:56.would like government to particularly address is the impact

:58:57. > :59:01.on children of those who are alcoholic parents or carers. There

:59:02. > :59:04.are estimated to be 2.5 million people living with problematic

:59:05. > :59:11.drinkers in this country and in a debate which I secured on the 2nd of

:59:12. > :59:16.February this year on alcohol harm there was some deeply moving

:59:17. > :59:17.accounts from members in this House of living as children with alcoholic

:59:18. > :59:22.parents and carers. At that time parents and carers. At that time

:59:23. > :59:30.those of us in the room very much welcomed the response of the

:59:31. > :59:34.Minister then for Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Health,

:59:35. > :59:40.the former member for Oxford and evident, who said she would look

:59:41. > :59:44.into this. I would ask ministers look back at her successor, the

:59:45. > :59:47.honourable member for Winchester, and request that we have some

:59:48. > :59:52.further progress on that because I think it's a very important area

:59:53. > :59:57.that has been under addressed and is specific to these children living

:59:58. > :00:02.with problematic drinkers. Evidence shows that spending money on

:00:03. > :00:08.treatment is effective for some with every ?1 invested generating ?2 50

:00:09. > :00:13.savings for society and yet only 6% of dependent drinkers in this

:00:14. > :00:18.country actually access treatment. It is vital the need to review the

:00:19. > :00:20.alcohol strategy. The current level of alcohol harm illustrates the

:00:21. > :00:27.necessity of doing so with urgency. If members will bear with me I want

:00:28. > :00:31.to go into this in more detail. As I have said, the harm caused by

:00:32. > :00:35.alcohol consumption extends not just of the individuals involved, but

:00:36. > :00:40.their families, and also wider society. It often harms innocent

:00:41. > :00:45.bystanders, those injured in road traffic accidents, patients needed

:00:46. > :00:48.treatment for serious illnesses who have to wait because precious NHS

:00:49. > :00:53.resources are being used to tackle the issue. It affects us all as

:00:54. > :00:58.taxpayers through the tax bills we pay, it affects the emergency

:00:59. > :01:04.services. Just a few months ago are all-party group produced a report,

:01:05. > :01:10.the front-line battle, the misuse of alcohol on those who serve us in the

:01:11. > :01:14.emergency services. Some of the story is there of emergency service

:01:15. > :01:18.staff being assaulted were heart-rending, and so I do welcome

:01:19. > :01:22.the Private Members Bill which I understand is brought forward to

:01:23. > :01:28.tomorrow by the honourable member for the Rhondda on this issue

:01:29. > :01:35.addressing assaults on emergency staff. We cannot address the issue

:01:36. > :01:39.of emergency service workers assaults without also looking at the

:01:40. > :01:44.fact that so much of it is caused by alcohol abuse. There has never been

:01:45. > :01:49.a greater need for a robust government action in order to tackle

:01:50. > :01:51.the the massive problem in this country resulting from alcohol

:01:52. > :01:56.consumption and this was evidence in the report and has been referred to

:01:57. > :01:59.in this debate already, published in December 2016 at the specific ref

:02:00. > :02:05.rest of the former Prime Minister David Cameron -- specific request.

:02:06. > :02:08.In that, a bleak picture is painted. There are 10 million people

:02:09. > :02:13.currently drinking at levels, which are increasing their risk of health

:02:14. > :02:19.harm. Perhaps very devastatingly, amongst those aged 15-49 in England,

:02:20. > :02:23.that is of working age, alcohol is now the leading risk factor for

:02:24. > :02:28.ill-health, early mortality and disability. There are now over 1

:02:29. > :02:35.million hospital admissions relating to alcohol each year. Half of which

:02:36. > :02:39.occur in the lowest three socioeconomic groups.

:02:40. > :02:44.Alcohol-related mortality has reduced stomach increased,

:02:45. > :02:50.particularly for the disease, a 400% increase since 1970 has been seen.

:02:51. > :02:55.We need a strategy because 176,000 years of working life will offer

:02:56. > :02:59.Tadhg Maio us to alcohol in 2015. Alcohol is more likely to kill

:03:00. > :03:04.people during their working lives than many other causes of death,

:03:05. > :03:08.that is it causes premature deaths. Alcohol accounts for 10% of the UK's

:03:09. > :03:11.burden of disease and death and in the past three decades there has

:03:12. > :03:18.been a threefold rise in alcohol deaths. I'm very grateful and I very

:03:19. > :03:24.much share the concerns that she is expressing about the danger and

:03:25. > :03:28.damage alcohol causes to society. Doshi agree with the case for a

:03:29. > :03:32.minimum unit price for alcohol which could act as a deterrent -- does

:03:33. > :03:36.she. It could act as a deterrent for young people and disadvantaged

:03:37. > :03:41.people from ending up with the consequences that flow from excess

:03:42. > :03:46.alcohol use? I thank the honourable member for that intervention. In the

:03:47. > :03:53.2012 strategy, that was the first recommendation, to introduce a

:03:54. > :03:56.minimum price and minimum unit pricing is a highly targeted measure

:03:57. > :04:01.which ensures tax increases are passed on to the consumer and

:04:02. > :04:05.improve the health of the heaviest drinkers. These other people

:04:06. > :04:09.experiencing the greatest amount of harm. Increasing the price of

:04:10. > :04:15.alcohol would save lives but it wouldn't penalise moderate drinkers,

:04:16. > :04:19.so I entirely agree. In fact, in the Public Health England's report in

:04:20. > :04:26.2012 they said affordability was the lead issue which could improve

:04:27. > :04:31.health resulting from alcohol harm. I just want to close, if I may, by

:04:32. > :04:38.referring to this issue of, again relating to cost, of White cider

:04:39. > :04:42.products such as Frosty Jack's. These are almost exclusively drunk

:04:43. > :04:46.by the vulnerable, young, homeless, dependent drinkers, just the kind of

:04:47. > :04:53.people I referred to earlier who need help. Just ?3.50 buys the

:04:54. > :04:59.equivalent of 22 shots of vodka, one of the large bottles of White cider.

:05:00. > :05:03.Because of its high strength this is something that time and again

:05:04. > :05:06.homeless hostels tell us is what people that drink and what causes

:05:07. > :05:12.the deaths time and again. One of the most heart-rending meetings I've

:05:13. > :05:16.ever attended in this House was when a mother came to talk to our old

:05:17. > :05:20.demagogue party group about her teenage daughter who had gone out

:05:21. > :05:27.one night, a happy and carefree young girl. When she came back she

:05:28. > :05:31.said her mum I don't feel very well, so her mum said I will give you a

:05:32. > :05:35.drink of water, put you to bed and see how you are in the morning. When

:05:36. > :05:40.her mum went into her room in the morning she was dead. She had drunk

:05:41. > :05:44.three bottles of White cider, that means she had drunk well over 50

:05:45. > :05:52.shots of vodka in one evening, that's the devastation that this

:05:53. > :05:56.drink can cause. Ciders of 7.5% alcohol by volume attract the lowest

:05:57. > :06:00.duty per unit of any product of 5p, compared with 18p per unit of beer

:06:01. > :06:04.over global and strength. There simply is no reason not to increase

:06:05. > :06:10.the duty on White cider and save some of these young lives, and 66%

:06:11. > :06:13.of the public support this. It is a matter of social justice so I'm

:06:14. > :06:19.asking the minister today to go back to the Treasury. I know that the

:06:20. > :06:23.former Right Honourable member for Battersea was looking at this issue

:06:24. > :06:26.also in the last Parliament and I do ask if the minister today would go

:06:27. > :06:30.back to her success and ask can we have some progress on this and save

:06:31. > :06:32.these young lives before any more families suffer as the one I've just

:06:33. > :06:44.described? The another strategy would be to

:06:45. > :06:50.improve training of people working, GPs and other clinical centres, so

:06:51. > :06:57.they can give brief additional advice on how to prevent alcohol

:06:58. > :07:00.harm. One example, for example, when someone is having their blood

:07:01. > :07:04.pressure tested, just in those few moments, do have a short

:07:05. > :07:07.conversation about how much alcohol is being drunk, and suggest that a

:07:08. > :07:13.couple of days off a week to rest the liver wouldn't be a bad idea. We

:07:14. > :07:16.need to pursue these to prevent the kind of damage that is being

:07:17. > :07:22.suffered by so many people in the country through excessive alcohol

:07:23. > :07:27.drinking. As I say, none of us, no one that I am aware of in our group,

:07:28. > :07:31.is saying we should avoid alcohol, it is drinking responsibly. I will

:07:32. > :07:37.close by borrowing the words of the former promised," this was in 2012

:07:38. > :07:44.when David Cameron said, we can't go on like this." He was right. But

:07:45. > :07:47.insufficient action has been taken. Things have not improved, rather the

:07:48. > :07:54.opposite. I call on the government today to save lives, revise the

:07:55. > :07:56.alcohol strategy. We can't have a successful, long-term approach to

:07:57. > :08:08.substance misuse without looking at both alcohol and drugs. Maiden

:08:09. > :08:12.speech. Thank you, Mr Speaker for allowing me the opportunity to make

:08:13. > :08:16.my maiden speech within such an important debate. I would like to

:08:17. > :08:18.commend previous speakers, honourable members, for the

:08:19. > :08:23.eloquence with which they have delivered their strong message on

:08:24. > :08:28.the drugs debate. Firstly, Mr Speaker, I wish to pay tribute to my

:08:29. > :08:34.predecessor, Fiona McTaggart, for her two decades of determined and

:08:35. > :08:39.dedicated service for our constituency. She, along with her

:08:40. > :08:42.predecessors, are fondly remembered by the people of Slough for their

:08:43. > :08:48.arable service. I will try to emulate them by becoming a

:08:49. > :08:53.hard-working MP for my constituents, because that is what Slough deserves

:08:54. > :08:58.-- their honourable service. Slough is a major cultural and creative

:08:59. > :09:02.hub, with one of the highest numbers of corporate and start up companies

:09:03. > :09:07.and headquarters anywhere in the country. Slough trading estate, for

:09:08. > :09:15.instance, is the largest singularly owned trading estate providing more

:09:16. > :09:19.than 17,000 jobs. Having run my own small start-up construction

:09:20. > :09:25.business, I appreciate how hard they need to work to succeed and become

:09:26. > :09:29.the engine of our economy. Home to some of the top performing state

:09:30. > :09:35.schools in the country, having superb infrastructure links, I think

:09:36. > :09:38.Honourable members with -- would agree with me, Slough has a bright

:09:39. > :09:47.future. I am from the Silicon Valley of England... We have a vibrant and

:09:48. > :09:52.diverse community with Kashmiris living alongside Punjabis, and those

:09:53. > :09:56.with Irish, Polish, and Afro-Caribbean ancestry. Indeed, it

:09:57. > :10:04.is the world in microcosm. However, Mr Speaker, juxtaposed with this

:10:05. > :10:08.scenario of low unemployment, we have some of the highest levels of

:10:09. > :10:13.homelessness, child abuse Dieng malnutrition in the country. There

:10:14. > :10:18.is a lack of affordable and social housing, and that is why I need to

:10:19. > :10:23.work closely with Slough's Labour run council, to help deliver for our

:10:24. > :10:29.residents. But we need to achieve that economic progress for all,

:10:30. > :10:35.while caring for our environment. Slough, Mr Speaker, is a town of

:10:36. > :10:45.firsts. It elected the first UK black lady mayor. Now, three decades

:10:46. > :10:58.later, it has elected the first turbaned Sikh. A glass ceiling has

:10:59. > :11:04.truly been broken. I sincerely hope that many more like me will follow

:11:05. > :11:07.in the years and decades to come. Mr Speaker, the enormity of what has

:11:08. > :11:14.been collectively achieved has not escaped me. The hand of history,

:11:15. > :11:23.huge excitement, anticipation and sheer expectations weigh heavily on

:11:24. > :11:27.my shoulders. Amongst thousands of goodwill messages from around the

:11:28. > :11:32.globe, one individual, their recent sickly put it, I feel really happy

:11:33. > :11:37.because finally there is someone that looks like me sitting in

:11:38. > :11:43.Parliament -- specifically. However, Mr Speaker, I was most overwhelmed

:11:44. > :11:48.during a recent trip up north when an elderly gentleman walked up to me

:11:49. > :11:53.with tears streaming down his eyes, and said, "I am proud, sir, because

:11:54. > :12:03.I didn't think that I would see this in my lifetime." It is a sense of

:12:04. > :12:08.belonging. When you get bullied at school for looking different, when

:12:09. > :12:10.you stand out from the crowd, it is a case of being respected and

:12:11. > :12:17.embraced by your fellow countrymen and women. Within the highest

:12:18. > :12:24.echelons of the establishment, what could demonstrate greater and

:12:25. > :12:31.embrace than being elected to serve and sit on these green benches in

:12:32. > :12:37.this House in the mother of all Parliaments. In addition, Mr

:12:38. > :12:43.Speaker, to human rights abuses elsewhere in the world, forget being

:12:44. > :12:48.embraced, even accent abilities in problem. For example, in

:12:49. > :12:53.neighbouring France, I find it extremely disappointing and

:12:54. > :12:59.incredibly ironic that more than 80,000 turbaned mayor soldiers died:

:13:00. > :13:05.yes, died, not injured, laid down their lives to liberate the very

:13:06. > :13:09.country where their descendants cannot now even take their ID photos

:13:10. > :13:13.without having to remove their turbans. Where they cannot now even

:13:14. > :13:22.send their children to most state schools without removing their

:13:23. > :13:27.turbans. This precludes Muslims from wearing their hijabs, dues from

:13:28. > :13:32.wearing skullcaps and Christians were wearing their crosses. --

:13:33. > :13:43.deuce. -- Jew. Several Sikhs shot dead

:13:44. > :13:49.because of mistaken identity, mistaken to being terrorists. The

:13:50. > :13:54.only way to fight such ignorance, to overcome the politics of hate and

:13:55. > :13:59.division, including the Islamophobia that is now so prevalent in certain

:14:00. > :14:06.sections of our society and media is to call it out and condemn it. And

:14:07. > :14:11.espouse the politics of integration, and these aren't just hollow words,

:14:12. > :14:16.Mr Speaker. I believe strongly in community cohesion and integration.

:14:17. > :14:23.When I served as mayor in 2011, integration was my main theme. The

:14:24. > :14:27.message that I consistently took out to our community, to our schools,

:14:28. > :14:31.the various faith groups and the wider community was that we should

:14:32. > :14:35.all be proud of our own distinct identity, whatever that may be. But

:14:36. > :14:39.we should also be proud of our shared heritage will stop and for

:14:40. > :14:43.those of us that are born and brought up in Britain, are British

:14:44. > :14:47.National is, we should also be proud to be British. And I thought it was

:14:48. > :14:54.particularly pertinent that I should deliver that message, because I

:14:55. > :15:01.belong to a minority community. Nonetheless, being distinct, or

:15:02. > :15:09.standing out from the crowd, has its own distinct advantages. I, for one,

:15:10. > :15:13.Mr Speaker, and very much hoping that these brightly coloured turbans

:15:14. > :15:18.will act as a magnet, as you repeatedly point towards the Member

:15:19. > :15:25.for Slough to make his invaluable contribution to proceedings in this

:15:26. > :15:34.House. LAUGHTER Whilst I am proud to be a Sikh, I

:15:35. > :15:37.will be serving in the true Sikh spirit of working for all,

:15:38. > :15:45.regardless of background or colour, or Creed. As I stand here today, Mr

:15:46. > :15:52.Speaker, I do feel immensely proud to be British, to be part of the

:15:53. > :15:57.most diverse Parliament ever, more women MPs, more ethic minorities,

:15:58. > :16:03.more LGBT and more people with disabilities being elected than ever

:16:04. > :16:07.before. Further work needs to be done, of course, by the political

:16:08. > :16:13.parties, but the British public can rightly be proud of this, their

:16:14. > :16:19.achievement. Mr Speaker, while faith and family, and community, have been

:16:20. > :16:24.central to my life, there is one more thing that has been pivotal in

:16:25. > :16:32.my life, and will, no doubt, continue to guide me in the coming

:16:33. > :16:36.years, Labour values of equality and social justice, delivering high

:16:37. > :16:39.quality public services, or being part of a society where we are truly

:16:40. > :16:45.in it together, looking out for and sharing with others, of solidarity

:16:46. > :16:53.as expressed by unions, of hard-working people of cooperative

:16:54. > :16:57.and internationalist values. Free quality education, including higher

:16:58. > :17:01.education for all. A free quality health and social care for, free at

:17:02. > :17:07.the point of need, the zenith of which was a formation of the NHS. My

:17:08. > :17:12.grandfather, Mr Speaker, a retired teacher and a committed socialist

:17:13. > :17:20.explained to me at a very young age what Labour did for him and his

:17:21. > :17:24.family. They treated us as equals. And because we have a few bob in our

:17:25. > :17:31.pockets, it doesn't mean that we will now abandon them. Mr Speaker,

:17:32. > :17:37.whilst others were busy making speeches on rivers of blood, and

:17:38. > :17:41.trading with an apartheid government, Labour were speaking up

:17:42. > :17:47.for people like him, and standing in solidarity with black South

:17:48. > :17:51.Africans. It is very easy to pay platitudes to Nelson Mandela, a

:17:52. > :17:58.personal hero of mine, when the whole world regards him as a hero.

:17:59. > :18:04.But to stand in solidarity with him, with him and his people, when the

:18:05. > :18:10.chips are truly down takes immense courage. And that is what Labour

:18:11. > :18:16.does best. To conclude, Mr Speaker, having been born locally, where my

:18:17. > :18:21.father worked at the Langley Ford factory, and my mother worked for a

:18:22. > :18:25.petrol company on Farnham Road, little could they have imagined that

:18:26. > :18:34.their son, the son of immigrants, would go on to serve as the town's

:18:35. > :18:39.MP. Little could I have imagined that my constituency office would be

:18:40. > :18:47.just a stone's throw away from where I spent my early years or more

:18:48. > :18:52.close. From such humble beginnings, it is with great humility that I

:18:53. > :18:57.take on this Auguste office. After the faith they have placed in me, I

:18:58. > :19:04.really, really hope to make the people of Slough proud of their MP

:19:05. > :19:13.as I seek to serve my constituency and my country. Thank you, Mr

:19:14. > :19:18.Speaker. Victoria Atkins. Thank you, Mr Speaker. May I commend the

:19:19. > :19:21.honourable member for Slough, or should I say the honourable member

:19:22. > :19:26.for the silicon valley of Europe for his excellent maiden speech. It was

:19:27. > :19:31.both thoughtful and thought-provoking and I'm sure I'm

:19:32. > :19:35.joined by colleagues across the House in looking forward to his

:19:36. > :19:42.contributions in future. Now I return to the debate in hand. I must

:19:43. > :19:48.declare an interest. My husband works for a company that has a Home

:19:49. > :19:52.Office licence to grow non-psychoactive versions of

:19:53. > :19:55.cannabis in order to treat epileptic conditions in children. This is

:19:56. > :20:00.ground-breaking work, but I thought I ought to declare it, given that I

:20:01. > :20:06.am referring to the psychoactive version of cannabis, which is a

:20:07. > :20:08.different substance. Madam Deputy Speaker, I welcome this new

:20:09. > :20:14.strategy, and the joint up approach of government in tackling the

:20:15. > :20:19.problem of drugs, both in our local communities and on a national and

:20:20. > :20:23.international scale. May I say at the outset, although my honourable

:20:24. > :20:26.friend and others were good enough to take interventions from me about

:20:27. > :20:32.my experience in the criminal courts, I share with my honourable

:20:33. > :20:37.friend and others hope that we can find more international solutions to

:20:38. > :20:42.tackling the problem of drugs. This is not a problem just in the United

:20:43. > :20:43.Kingdom, it is, sadly, a problem that faces pretty much each and

:20:44. > :20:53.every country in the world. Will have to improve our relations

:20:54. > :20:58.internationally if we are to have any chance of tackling the growers,

:20:59. > :21:01.the dealers and so on on an international scale. As I've

:21:02. > :21:06.mentioned I worked before elected to this place as a criminal barrister,

:21:07. > :21:11.which meant that in my early days I used to defend young people in youth

:21:12. > :21:16.courts and in Magistrates' Courts who were often afflicted with drug

:21:17. > :21:21.addictions. As I rose up the ranks I also began to prosecute high-level

:21:22. > :21:25.drug cases, the source of cases that you read about in the newspapers

:21:26. > :21:29.where you have international drug barons supplying the first tier of

:21:30. > :21:34.the market in the United Kingdom, and that Tier would disseminate down

:21:35. > :21:40.region early eventually down to the street. It goes without saying that

:21:41. > :21:44.the tonnes of cocaine and heroin and cannabis that featured in the cases

:21:45. > :21:48.in which I worked were of a very different purity from the substances

:21:49. > :21:51.that will be bought on the street. Because, of course, I hesitate to

:21:52. > :21:58.use this word, but like any efficient business model, criminals

:21:59. > :22:03.diversify and they pad out the product for as long as they can to

:22:04. > :22:07.try and increase their profits. One of the most fascinating witnesses

:22:08. > :22:11.that either the called in a criminal trial was the Metropolitan Police's

:22:12. > :22:15.expert witness on the business of drugs. The idea that the drugs

:22:16. > :22:21.industry is run by anything other than consummate professionals,

:22:22. > :22:26.ruthless, evil, but nonetheless professionals, is not be ignored.

:22:27. > :22:32.These people have branding, just as any of the legitimate company does.

:22:33. > :22:35.They send out testers to their best purchasers, as it were. They are

:22:36. > :22:40.utterly ruthless in the way they sell their produce which is why, and

:22:41. > :22:45.I will come in to it later, I fear I don't have the optimism that I know

:22:46. > :22:50.others do in this place as to how we tackle that through regulation but I

:22:51. > :22:54.will come onto that later. One of the points also when considering the

:22:55. > :22:59.very, very high-level criminal gangs that operate these markets, is that

:23:00. > :23:04.they don't just import drugs. If you've got a way of importing drugs

:23:05. > :23:07.that means that you have also a way of importing guns and ammunition and

:23:08. > :23:16.also sadly a way of importing or smuggling in people. These drug

:23:17. > :23:20.gangs have a whole host of criminal behaviour to try and spot flaws and

:23:21. > :23:25.holes in law enforcement across the country and across the European

:23:26. > :23:33.Union. They try and find these holes and they exploit them to make a

:23:34. > :23:38.huge, huge profit. I know that colleagues today have been talking

:23:39. > :23:45.about alcohol and how alcohol creates its own problems and its own

:23:46. > :23:49.harms. I absolutely understand that. I would just, however, urge a note

:23:50. > :23:55.of caution when comparing class a drugs to alcohol, which is that

:23:56. > :24:02.when, I don't know, when he drinks company makes an alcoholic drink

:24:03. > :24:07.legally in this country, it's an efficient process, they have

:24:08. > :24:11.factories, they have licensing and so on. The reality, sadly, of the

:24:12. > :24:17.drugs market and one I fear is not capable of being changed is that by

:24:18. > :24:22.definition the source of drugs that cause the most harm, namely heroin

:24:23. > :24:26.and cocaine, they cannot be grown in this country, which means they must

:24:27. > :24:31.be grown overseas and we know, sadly, they are grown in places like

:24:32. > :24:37.Mexico or Columbia, or Iraq, which tend to be in themselves poorer

:24:38. > :24:42.nations. Those drugs then have to get into this country. How does that

:24:43. > :24:45.happen? It happens in a variety of ways, but for me always the most

:24:46. > :24:48.distressing way in which it happened, and one way I think

:24:49. > :24:55.actually we should educate our young people more about, was the use of

:24:56. > :25:02.swallowers, in various parts of the Caribbean they would be drug routes

:25:03. > :25:05.from Colombia or Mexico through the Caribbean and young people,

:25:06. > :25:13.sometimes children, are persuaded or forced to swallow condom is full of

:25:14. > :25:18.cocaine or heroin. They are then sent through on the air journey, on

:25:19. > :25:22.the aeroplane journey, across to any of the major airports in Europe and

:25:23. > :25:27.then they are bounced into the United Kingdom. And one has to hope

:25:28. > :25:34.beyond hope that these young people are caught by customs officials at

:25:35. > :25:38.Heathrow or Gatwick, or gluten, or where ever because that is their

:25:39. > :25:42.best chance. If they are caught by customs they will be taken to a

:25:43. > :25:45.customs facility that has a special, and I'm freezing this carefully

:25:46. > :25:52.because I'm conscious this is a public place, special lavatory

:25:53. > :25:57.facilities to enable the cocaine, the condoms of cocaine to get out of

:25:58. > :26:01.the human body. It is watched by customs officials as this happens

:26:02. > :26:05.because for evidential reasons we need to know that the evidence came

:26:06. > :26:10.from that person, and the person obviously is in a great deal of pain

:26:11. > :26:14.when those condoms are leaving their body because the human body is not

:26:15. > :26:20.made to pass those sorts of substances. That is the swallower

:26:21. > :26:25.who is lucky, caught by customs and dealt with efficiently and I have to

:26:26. > :26:31.say, by our customs officials. The worst-case scenario is if that

:26:32. > :26:36.swallower passes customs guy meets the dealer and is led by the dealer

:26:37. > :26:41.to wherever the dealer's headquarters is. They are then in on

:26:42. > :26:46.sanitary command pleasant conditions. They are forced to try

:26:47. > :26:53.and pass the condoms. If they do not pass them then the dealer has a

:26:54. > :26:58.decision to make. They have sometimes as much as ?50,000 of

:26:59. > :27:03.profit in that person's stomach. How are they to get it out? Well, it's

:27:04. > :27:08.not pretty. They are ruthless, they are violent, they use a knife, that

:27:09. > :27:14.is how they get the profit out of that person's stomach. This is not

:27:15. > :27:17.often reported. It is something that has always surprised me because it

:27:18. > :27:21.seems to me if we could communicate to young people, people who use

:27:22. > :27:27.cocaine in particular, this is how the cocaine ends up in the rap in

:27:28. > :27:29.their club or whether it is they are buying it, perhaps it would make

:27:30. > :27:34.them pause for a moment before they buy it. I know there are honourable

:27:35. > :27:39.members of this House who say that is why we need to regulate, why we

:27:40. > :27:43.need to take criminals out of that market. As I say, I can understand

:27:44. > :27:46.that, I'm just afraid my experience of these people in criminal courts

:27:47. > :27:52.is I just don't see how people who are ruthless enough to get another

:27:53. > :27:56.human being as if they are a fish, I don't see how we are going to

:27:57. > :28:00.persuade them to follow a law-abiding life. Forgive me if I am

:28:01. > :28:06.a beacon of pessimism on this, I just don't see how we do it. Could I

:28:07. > :28:11.ask one very simple question. What is the alternative, to allow them to

:28:12. > :28:16.continue to behave in this way or do you want to stand up to that? I'm

:28:17. > :28:19.grateful to the honourable gentleman and it is perfectly proper question.

:28:20. > :28:24.The only solution I have come up with, and I am a person, I'm not a

:28:25. > :28:30.think tank, I'm not a Home Office official, is that we have got to

:28:31. > :28:37.continue and increase pressure on those criminal gangs. We are getting

:28:38. > :28:40.better at it but we need to work internationally with other

:28:41. > :28:43.countries. I think there is more frankly we can be doing in some of

:28:44. > :28:55.the countries we talked about to try and remove the financial attraction

:28:56. > :29:00.of giving a field over to opium poppies, there is more we can be

:29:01. > :29:03.doing internationally. The reason I take that approach rather than the

:29:04. > :29:10.regulated approach, because quite apart from my cynicism that these

:29:11. > :29:14.people with dumber will withdraw themselves from criminal activity,

:29:15. > :29:18.is the form of addiction itself. When I used to mitigate for people

:29:19. > :29:22.in criminal courts are used to explain addiction in the following

:29:23. > :29:28.way. I think addiction takes three forms. It is a physical addiction.

:29:29. > :29:35.The body craves the next fix. It is also a mental addiction. How can I

:29:36. > :29:41.cope? How can I get through the day, the week, without my next fix, the

:29:42. > :29:45.next few fixes? But it is also a social addiction. Because, if you

:29:46. > :29:51.are in such a dark place that you are addicted to class a substance

:29:52. > :29:57.that you are probably not going to be hanging out with people who are

:29:58. > :30:04.not also addicted. We know that people gather together to share

:30:05. > :30:09.instruments, to share substances and so on. It's a social addiction. That

:30:10. > :30:14.is what I hope very much and I'm very encouraged by what I see in the

:30:15. > :30:18.drugs strategy, that must be challenged. If we can get to a stage

:30:19. > :30:21.where a prisoner is released from a certain prison in south London, I

:30:22. > :30:26.won't name, where we know the deal is mine upon the Avenue outside the

:30:27. > :30:33.prison and say, hello, old friend, you are back, would you like a fix

:30:34. > :30:37.on me? If we can break that cycle that may help that person to break

:30:38. > :30:41.that addiction. This is why the idea of a national recovery champion and

:30:42. > :30:47.these ideas in the drugs strategy, I welcome, because finally we are

:30:48. > :30:54.looking at the effects of addiction, as well as the law enforcement side

:30:55. > :31:01.of it. I still very much believe that we must focus on the criminal

:31:02. > :31:06.aspect of it. The point about the dealers, again, it may be that some

:31:07. > :31:09.people, if this were to be regulated or decriminalised, it may be that

:31:10. > :31:14.some addicts would be able to make that journey to the local chemist,

:31:15. > :31:20.or wherever it is, and to pick their doses. I also fear that the social

:31:21. > :31:24.addiction I'm talking about, the pressure of the dealer, would still

:31:25. > :31:27.play and the dealer would say to the addict, you might be getting your

:31:28. > :31:34.fix from the chemist or wherever, but you really do want to buy your

:31:35. > :31:37.fix from me, don't you? We know that the mental, social addiction and

:31:38. > :31:43.threat that these people are quite prepared to use, I fear that they

:31:44. > :31:46.will be a black market in this. There is evidence to suggest this is

:31:47. > :31:52.the case because we know that when heroin users are prescribed

:31:53. > :31:57.methadone, sadly they are not always able to withstand the enticements of

:31:58. > :32:05.their dealers. That may also be because they want to carry on using

:32:06. > :32:12.heroin. But the point is, I worry that the regulation/

:32:13. > :32:19.decriminalisation strategy will just allow the deal was to carry on on

:32:20. > :32:22.the streets as before. I'm grateful for you giving way, there is a black

:32:23. > :32:25.market in tobacco and alcohol but most people don't get their tobacco

:32:26. > :32:28.and alcohol from the black market. Isn't the point that people would

:32:29. > :32:34.have less temptation, and over time there would be a reduction in the

:32:35. > :32:37.number of people using dealers? I'm grateful to the honourable gentleman

:32:38. > :32:41.for raising that because counterfeit cigarettes was next on my list. I

:32:42. > :32:46.speak from personal experience. I prosecuted a criminal gang who

:32:47. > :32:52.controlled the counterfeit cigarette market at that time in the North of

:32:53. > :32:57.England. When Customs knocked that gang, they did fantastically well,

:32:58. > :33:03.they got the guy at the very top, as well as the traffickers... Sorry,

:33:04. > :33:07.the distributors at the bottom. It knocked out the counterfeit

:33:08. > :33:11.cigarette market for six months in the north of England. However,

:33:12. > :33:17.another gang came in and fill that vacuum within six months. I'd have

:33:18. > :33:24.to hand the figures on the usage of counterfeit cigarettes. But it is a

:33:25. > :33:29.fact that many people do seek out counterfeit cigarettes. Not least

:33:30. > :33:33.because they are priced highly, rightly so, to stop people smoking.

:33:34. > :33:38.I don't have those figures to hand but I remember reading them and it's

:33:39. > :33:42.quite compelling how many people do in fact to use counterfeit

:33:43. > :33:47.cigarettes. We now know there is also a rising market in counterfeit

:33:48. > :33:50.alcohol because, I think, within the last six months, warnings have gone

:33:51. > :33:56.out to corner shops that they need to be aware of very good

:33:57. > :33:59.reproductions of certain brands of vodka because in fact we know there

:34:00. > :34:03.is a counterfeit market and the vodka people may be buying in good

:34:04. > :34:13.faith from their local shop is in fact away more alcoholic than would

:34:14. > :34:16.expect. I hope, if nothing else, I am demonstrating my worries about

:34:17. > :34:24.how complex it is, and how we can't just rely on the idea of

:34:25. > :34:34.deregulation and/ or decriminalisation. I'm grateful for

:34:35. > :34:39.her giving way. Aren't you impressed by the simple fact, as my honourable

:34:40. > :34:45.friend said, that in 1971 we had fewer than 1000 addicts to heroin

:34:46. > :34:50.and cocaine in this country, and virtually no deaths, because they

:34:51. > :34:59.were receiving their heroin from the health service? After 46 years of

:35:00. > :35:08.the harshest prohibition in Europe, we now have 320,000 addicts. Isn't

:35:09. > :35:09.it true that prohibition creates the drug taking, the gangsters and the

:35:10. > :35:16.deaths? I am grateful to the honourable

:35:17. > :35:20.gentleman. I know he has a long history of campaigning on this

:35:21. > :35:27.subject, which I respect. I must disagree with him, because a great

:35:28. > :35:33.deal has changed since 1971. We know that we have people, we have

:35:34. > :35:37.criminal gangs all over the world, coming to the United Kingdom,

:35:38. > :35:41.because we have a high population, we are much more densely populated

:35:42. > :35:48.than other countries. And they come to this country to sell drugs. I

:35:49. > :35:52.wish, I am sure there are colleagues that would like some close to turn

:35:53. > :35:55.the clock back to 1971, but I don't think we can. We have now got to

:35:56. > :36:04.deal with international demographics as they happen, sorry, international

:36:05. > :36:08.movement of Camillas -- criminals as they happen. I know the honourable

:36:09. > :36:13.gentleman referred to other countries that have decriminalised,

:36:14. > :36:20.and the impact that has had on addiction rates. What I do know is

:36:21. > :36:23.that in various United States, states where they have

:36:24. > :36:29.decriminalised cannabis, which I accept is a different substance to

:36:30. > :36:34.heroin, there is evidence now of a growing backlash against that

:36:35. > :36:38.decriminalisation. Whilst people may like the idea in principle of

:36:39. > :36:42.decriminalisation, when it comes to deciding where the shop that sells

:36:43. > :36:47.the cannabis is going to be located in your town, is it going to be the

:36:48. > :36:51.Post Office... you have to allow advertising near a school, those

:36:52. > :36:55.practicalities, people then feel uncomfortable with that. We need

:36:56. > :37:03.look no further than my own county, the City of Lincoln, it was

:37:04. > :37:07.celebrated, the government's psychoactive substances act, because

:37:08. > :37:11.it was fed up to the backs teeth that are back teeth of having

:37:12. > :37:15.headshot all over the City, and people didn't like it. I appreciate,

:37:16. > :37:20.he and I may never see I tie on this, but I don't think we can turn

:37:21. > :37:25.the clock back to 1971. The honourable gentleman as well, actor,

:37:26. > :37:33.has cited the example of Portugal and the level of drug deaths. I

:37:34. > :37:37.assume, but he has taken his figures from the European monitoring Centre

:37:38. > :37:45.for drugs and drug addiction. That, I think, is the latest table of

:37:46. > :37:50.these statistics. It turns out that Romania has the lowest rate of death

:37:51. > :37:57.through drug use. Portugal is next, then Bulgaria and Turkey have the

:37:58. > :38:02.third and fourth lowest rates. I don't know, but I suspect that

:38:03. > :38:10.Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey do not have liberal policies towards drug

:38:11. > :38:15.use, decriminalisation and so on. Again, I urge caution in looking at

:38:16. > :38:20.that statistic, because it may not be that decriminalisation is the

:38:21. > :38:26.whole answer. The argument about cannabis, we know that the

:38:27. > :38:33.psychoactive substance in cannabis has increased from an average of

:38:34. > :38:38.about 1% potency in the 1960s to about 11% in 2011. What on earth

:38:39. > :38:43.does that mean? I am told, according to my research anyway, that is

:38:44. > :38:49.equivalent to a low alcohol here in the 1960s day, to a dozen shots of

:38:50. > :38:57.vodka a day. That is quite a jump in potency. We know, of course, sadly,

:38:58. > :39:04.that skunk can be even stronger, up to 30% potency of THC, which is why

:39:05. > :39:08.in my interventions I have mentioned the real impact we see in the

:39:09. > :39:16.criminal courts of young people and young offenders having mental health

:39:17. > :39:21.issues, and who have also used skunk on a regular basis. And those are

:39:22. > :39:26.the people I want to protect. Because if we can persuade fewer

:39:27. > :39:31.young people to smoke dope or take drugs, that not just has a benefit

:39:32. > :39:36.for them and their families, but it also has a huge benefit, of course,

:39:37. > :39:44.for the local community. Because we all know, sadly, the role that drugs

:39:45. > :39:50.play in onward crimes being committed to fund the next purchase

:39:51. > :39:54.of drugs. So, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am conscious I have taken a very

:39:55. > :39:59.long time and we have an exciting Labour speech on its way after me.

:40:00. > :40:04.But in conclusion, or whilst the international debate on how we deal

:40:05. > :40:07.with drugs continues, it is absolutely essential that this

:40:08. > :40:13.government sets out a strategy for what we do here at home. And I'm

:40:14. > :40:18.really, really impressed by the drug strategy. I welcome, in particular,

:40:19. > :40:22.the introduction of a national recovery champion, because the idea

:40:23. > :40:27.of someone overlooking good practice and not so good practice, I think

:40:28. > :40:31.that is a very, very good idea. I am sure we can all find agreement. We

:40:32. > :40:35.may not all agree on decriminalisation and so on, we may

:40:36. > :40:40.find agreement that health care must form part of this drug strategy. We

:40:41. > :40:45.must be able to look after people and addicts, to help them get rid of

:40:46. > :40:50.their approach. I am still a firm believer, nonetheless, that law

:40:51. > :40:58.enforcement plays a vital role here and internationally in stopping the

:40:59. > :41:00.drug barons in profiting from this terrible, terrible industry. And I

:41:01. > :41:06.will support the government in their efforts to stop it. Jeff Smith.

:41:07. > :41:10.Thank you, Madam Deputy is Speaker. I congratulate the new member for

:41:11. > :41:14.Slough on the excellent maiden speech. It was a privilege to be

:41:15. > :41:19.here for the first maiden speech by a brightly coloured turban Sikh.

:41:20. > :41:23.Congratulations on that. I look forward to a number of maiden

:41:24. > :41:28.speeches today. In my own maiden speech two years ago, I said amongst

:41:29. > :41:32.other things that I look forward to arguing for our drug laws. There has

:41:33. > :41:36.been very little chance since then, so I welcome the debate today.

:41:37. > :41:41.Unfortunately, I do believe the government's new drug strategy is a

:41:42. > :41:46.massive missed opportunity. We don't get a new strategy very often, there

:41:47. > :41:49.is always the hope it will contain radical thinking. With this, we have

:41:50. > :41:54.a strategy that sadly offers little that is new, and is more of the same

:41:55. > :41:59.approach that isn't working, that has seen an increase in drug-related

:42:00. > :42:03.deaths in the UK, that sees the UK responsible for nearly a third of

:42:04. > :42:13.Europe's drug deaths. Madam Deputy Speaker, my friend is five years

:42:14. > :42:18.old. It will be his third birthday without his father who died from a

:42:19. > :42:23.heroin overdose. Cara wants to legalise drugs to end the stigma

:42:24. > :42:30.around drug use and end the unnecessary criminalisation of drug

:42:31. > :42:36.users, which has made it so difficult for his family to deal

:42:37. > :42:38.with his drug addiction. The day after tomorrow, Thursday,

:42:39. > :42:44.will be the fourth anniversary of the death of 15-year-old Martha

:42:45. > :42:51.Cockburn, who died after taking ecstasy, which turned out to be 91%

:42:52. > :42:55.pure, and as a result of which, she died of an accidental overdose. Her

:42:56. > :42:59.mother is in the public gallery today, and she now campaigns for the

:43:00. > :43:04.legalisation and regulation of ecstasy, amongst other drugs. It was

:43:05. > :43:08.the reason Martha died was because there was no controlling measure on

:43:09. > :43:12.the substance that killed her daughter. And no way for Martha to

:43:13. > :43:20.check the safety of the substance she was using. Martha was failed by

:43:21. > :43:24.our approach to drug policy. Many people have been touched by the loss

:43:25. > :43:29.of loved ones and want a more measured debate, a more rational

:43:30. > :43:35.approach to drug policy. 50 people a week are dying of drug-related

:43:36. > :43:40.deaths a week 50 Marthas and Jakes. Our first duty in place these to be

:43:41. > :43:46.to try to keep people safe, and we are failing. The biggest missed

:43:47. > :43:50.opportunity in the strategy is to not even consider decriminalisation

:43:51. > :43:53.or legalisation of some drugs as a solution to the problem. We have

:43:54. > :44:00.heard a number of times already today about Portugal, where they

:44:01. > :44:04.decriminalised in 2001. They have a drug induced death rate that is five

:44:05. > :44:15.times lower than the EU average. They have 16 overdose deaths last

:44:16. > :44:19.year, Madam Deputy Speaker, it in an article last week on the publication

:44:20. > :44:22.of this tragedy, the Home Secretary said, "We owe it to future

:44:23. > :44:29.generations to work together for a society free of drugs. " Talking of

:44:30. > :44:33.a society free of drugs is, in my view, a dangerous fantasy. It is a

:44:34. > :44:37.fantasy because humans have taken drugs are thousands of years and

:44:38. > :44:41.aren't going to stop because the Home Secretary produces a new

:44:42. > :44:45.strategy. And it is dangerous because it diverts our attention and

:44:46. > :44:49.resources from the real challenge, how we make drug-taking safer, how

:44:50. > :44:53.we educate users and reduce the consumption of dangerous drugs, and

:44:54. > :44:58.how we take control of the drug trade from the criminals who want to

:44:59. > :45:03.exploit vulnerable users. And how we stop criminalising many thousands of

:45:04. > :45:06.people unnecessarily. In the case of a lot of people, they are being

:45:07. > :45:12.criminalised for a medical or psychological problem. We need to

:45:13. > :45:17.recognise the link between early childhood trauma, including abuse,

:45:18. > :45:22.and addiction in later life. It's a closer link than that between

:45:23. > :45:26.obesity and diabetes. Drug addiction is very often a psychological or

:45:27. > :45:31.biological problem, and criminalising people who have those

:45:32. > :45:35.problems is not the answer. And in other cases, we have unnecessarily

:45:36. > :45:40.criminalised people for using a relatively harm free intoxicant and

:45:41. > :45:43.the best example is cannabis. It is surely wrong that we criminalised

:45:44. > :45:51.people for using a substance less dangerous than two echo all alcohol.

:45:52. > :45:56.A substance that an overwhelming amount of people find pleasant, and

:45:57. > :46:00.even a rewarding experience. We have all party Parliamentary groups that

:46:01. > :46:04.extol the virtues of beer and wine, and whiskey, but when we talk about

:46:05. > :46:07.a substance less harmful than alcohol, we are not allowed to say

:46:08. > :46:12.it can be a positive experience. I had to give way. The gentleman is

:46:13. > :46:20.making a powerful speech. But I regret to say, it is wrong in one

:46:21. > :46:24.particular regard. The cannabis is a dangerous drug that can be a gateway

:46:25. > :46:28.towards mental health difficulties. Does he agree with me that if you

:46:29. > :46:31.were to decriminalise it, it sends a dangerous message to people that

:46:32. > :46:37.cannabis is safe and nothing could be further for Madrid? I don't agree

:46:38. > :46:44.because I don't that is the evidence and that isn't the message.

:46:45. > :46:48.There is a whole host of research over the years that says that

:46:49. > :46:54.cannabis is less dangerous than alcohol. Isn't the problem that when

:46:55. > :46:59.you are buying in the criminal market, you have no idea what you

:47:00. > :47:03.are buying. You could be buying a heavy string. If you regular, you

:47:04. > :47:07.have control of the potency of the substance that we are trying to

:47:08. > :47:14.control? That is absolutely right. We talked earlier on about the use

:47:15. > :47:18.of skunk, and skunk has high THC content. You regular the market and

:47:19. > :47:21.you can balance the TAC and CBD elements in the product you are

:47:22. > :47:28.producing and make it safer for the public. The honourable gentleman is

:47:29. > :47:34.making an informed statement, but will he agree with me, that cannabis

:47:35. > :47:38.has different drugs than the skunk we talk about. The difference in the

:47:39. > :47:45.western United States is, you can have a perfectly civilised

:47:46. > :47:48.purchasing system, and can I appeal to the avaricious element among the

:47:49. > :47:52.government benches, it is a vast revenue stream of taxation, which

:47:53. > :48:01.surely should delight even their dark hearts. I absolutely agree with

:48:02. > :48:05.my honourable friend. He knows it, I suspect many people in this House

:48:06. > :48:11.noted. Far more people incidentally Dan represented here today. Plenty I

:48:12. > :48:17.think on the government's side know it, maybe the Home Secretary knows

:48:18. > :48:20.it, but because of the toxic climate around drug policy, we cannot say

:48:21. > :48:23.it. If we legalise and regular cannabis, we take it out of the

:48:24. > :48:27.hands of the dealers who would reduce the opportunity for dealers

:48:28. > :48:31.to tempt users into experimenting with more dangerous drugs, we would

:48:32. > :48:34.regulate the products, as my honourable friend says, so users

:48:35. > :48:38.know with confidence what they are getting. People worried about high

:48:39. > :48:42.levels of THC, don't have to take whatever they get on the streets. As

:48:43. > :48:50.a bonus, we would raise many, many millions for the Exchequer to spend.

:48:51. > :48:53.Around the world, countries are recognising that cannabis

:48:54. > :48:58.prohibition is failing and many countries are regulating. Uruguay

:48:59. > :49:02.was the first, eight states now in the US representing 20% of the

:49:03. > :49:06.population have legalised and regulated, and next year, Canada

:49:07. > :49:11.should become the first G-7 country to do it. It is time we did the

:49:12. > :49:15.same. I personally believe this is going to happen, it is inevitable

:49:16. > :49:18.that it will happen in this country, we just have to grasp the nettle to

:49:19. > :49:23.do it. We desperately need to change the terms of the debate. We need

:49:24. > :49:27.more openness and honesty in discussing a drug policy. We need to

:49:28. > :49:32.reduce the stigma around taking drugs, so families find it easier to

:49:33. > :49:37.discuss the problem and find help. And we need to stop the pretence

:49:38. > :49:41.that all peoples experiences with drugs are negative. In a previous

:49:42. > :49:49.life, I worked as a D-Day and event manager in the music industry. I

:49:50. > :49:53.spent a lot of time working and socialising in nightclubs. I spent a

:49:54. > :49:56.lot of time around people who used recreational drugs. Many thousands,

:49:57. > :50:00.probably hundreds of thousands of ecstasy pills are taken every week

:50:01. > :50:06.in the UK, and we can't pretend in our public discourse that people

:50:07. > :50:09.taking drugs do it because it is a terrible, miserable experience.

:50:10. > :50:13.People won't believe us, it will destroy the credibility of the

:50:14. > :50:19.message, so we need an honest and rational debate around drug policy.

:50:20. > :50:24.If users and especially young people are going to take seriously and we

:50:25. > :50:27.need to focus on policies that minimise harm and risk to those

:50:28. > :50:32.users, and that means looking at different approaches to harm

:50:33. > :50:34.reduction and that is where this strategy is so disappointing. The

:50:35. > :50:39.government ignored the chance to do this by looking at interventions

:50:40. > :50:43.which can save lives, drug consumption rooms for heroin users,

:50:44. > :50:47.heroin prescribing, pill testing, and we need a much stronger emphasis

:50:48. > :50:52.on educational solutions where people are caught breaking what is

:50:53. > :50:58.currently the law. If I get caught speeding in my car I get sent on a

:50:59. > :51:02.course to make me drive more safely. They have a very high success rate.

:51:03. > :51:06.If I'm driving a speeding car I have the potential to do much more harm

:51:07. > :51:09.to society than if I'm caught in possession of cannabis or ecstasy

:51:10. > :51:13.for personal use, and yet the latter is a criminal offence with the

:51:14. > :51:17.potential for a damaging criminal record and the former is a civil

:51:18. > :51:23.offence. There is in my view not to treat drug for personal use in the

:51:24. > :51:25.same way. I just want to say a brief word about medicinal cannabis,

:51:26. > :51:31.although it is not really covered in this strategy, it is something that

:51:32. > :51:34.as the all-party group for drug reform looked at last year. They is

:51:35. > :51:38.over whelming evidence that cannabis is a useful treatment for a whole

:51:39. > :51:41.range of conditions. In some cases people find relief in cannabis

:51:42. > :51:47.having exhausted other failed treatments. Some people may have

:51:48. > :51:49.seen an article in the Daily Mail recently that asks whether a woman

:51:50. > :51:55.should be criminalised for medicating with cannabis. Madam

:51:56. > :51:59.Deputy Speaker, when even the Daily Mail accepts that there is an

:52:00. > :52:03.argument for change, it surely illustrates how far this House is

:52:04. > :52:06.behind public opinion on this issue. Winnie to follow the many countries,

:52:07. > :52:11.including half the states in the USA, and legalise cannabis for

:52:12. > :52:15.medicinal useful stuff I finally want to mention resource in as my

:52:16. > :52:19.honourable friend, the Shadow Home Secretary said earlier, passing

:52:20. > :52:23.responsibility to local authorities for drug treatment was a good idea

:52:24. > :52:27.in practice, but there is a massive problem of addiction services facing

:52:28. > :52:30.cuts when local authorities commission them because of the

:52:31. > :52:34.massive costs to local authority budgets. It is a huge issue. Madam

:52:35. > :52:38.Deputy Speaker, some drugs are dangerous, we do need to get drugs

:52:39. > :52:43.under control. But I don't want those words to be misinterpreted. I

:52:44. > :52:48.don't mean that we to ban the use of drugs. Winnie the production, retail

:52:49. > :52:51.and use of some drugs to be controlled so that people can use

:52:52. > :52:57.drugs safely if they choose to do so. Prohibition isn't working in the

:52:58. > :53:00.UK or around the world. We need a new approach, we need to treat

:53:01. > :53:04.addiction as a health issue, we need to stop criminalising people

:53:05. > :53:08.unnecessarily. Winnie to start considering proper evidence -based

:53:09. > :53:12.strategies. We certainly need to move towards legalising cannabis and

:53:13. > :53:16.I believe it's only a matter of time. We need to look seriously at

:53:17. > :53:20.decriminalisation of other drugs. Madam Deputy Speaker, the reason I

:53:21. > :53:26.have stood up to speak today is not because I think I'm going to get a

:53:27. > :53:30.massive change in the current drug policy. I don't expect any quick

:53:31. > :53:35.progress on drug policy, to be honest. But I think we need to start

:53:36. > :53:37.reframing the debate. There are a limited number of us prepared to

:53:38. > :53:41.stand up and speak about this issue at the moment. I hope gradually the

:53:42. > :53:45.numbers will increase because we really need serious debate on this

:53:46. > :53:54.issue, not more of the same approach which has failed. To make his maiden

:53:55. > :53:59.speech, Jack Brereton. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I

:54:00. > :54:03.have been very pleased to listen to some excellent and well-informed

:54:04. > :54:06.speeches today, particularly the maiden speech for the honourable

:54:07. > :54:10.member forts allow opposite. It's an absolute honour to be able to rise

:54:11. > :54:14.to make my maiden speech and represent the people of

:54:15. > :54:19.Stoke-on-Trent South in this place. The city which I grew up in and have

:54:20. > :54:23.lived my whole life, nothing could make me prouder than serving the

:54:24. > :54:26.people of Stoke-on-Trent South in Parliament. I would also like to

:54:27. > :54:32.take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor. I thank him for

:54:33. > :54:37.his commitment to Stoke-on-Trent South for the past 12 years. He will

:54:38. > :54:40.be remembered as a dedicated community activist in Stoke-on-Trent

:54:41. > :54:44.and respected here for his campaigning on a number of national

:54:45. > :54:48.concerns particularly by the Road haulage industry where he played an

:54:49. > :54:54.active role. Stoke-on-Trent is a unique place with a strong cultural

:54:55. > :54:58.identity. City founded upon its industrial heritage with those

:54:59. > :55:03.industries now resurgent and a hotbed for innovation. The potteries

:55:04. > :55:07.were born out of industry and our culture flows from this.

:55:08. > :55:12.Stoke-on-Trent is also known well for its unique cultural dialect.

:55:13. > :55:16.Madam Deputy Speaker, I had thought about giving my maiden speech in a

:55:17. > :55:25.traditional potteries dialect, however, I did feel this could put

:55:26. > :55:28.present a challenge for Hansard. I hope honourable and Right Honourable

:55:29. > :55:32.member is will indulge me for just one Sean Ryan. It is nevertheless

:55:33. > :55:40.time that the question was asked in this House... In answer to that

:55:41. > :55:44.question I know that the players of Stoke City Football Club whose home

:55:45. > :55:50.is the bet 365 Stadium in my constituency would have no problem

:55:51. > :55:54.too... Stogies are especially known for their friendliness and many

:55:55. > :56:06.visitors to the city will remark on how welcoming people are locally. --

:56:07. > :56:09.Stokeies. The coming together in 1910 of six individual and different

:56:10. > :56:15.towns to form one body, two of which, the towns of Fenton and

:56:16. > :56:21.Longton are within my constituency. We did not gain city states however,

:56:22. > :56:26.until 1925 in what was a rare and modern occurrence of royal

:56:27. > :56:29.intervention with the monarch count amending the government, initially

:56:30. > :56:33.refused by the Home Office following a direct approach to His Majesty

:56:34. > :56:41.King George V, Stoke-on-Trent Kaymer city on the 4th of June 1925.

:56:42. > :56:44.Surrounding the pottery towns in Fenton and Longton, my

:56:45. > :56:48.Stoke-on-Trent South constituency includes a diverse slice of North

:56:49. > :56:51.Staffordshire. We have the only grade one listed building in

:56:52. > :56:56.Stoke-on-Trent, the Trentin mausoleum, the final resting place

:56:57. > :57:01.of the Dukes of Sutherland. The Dukes of Sutherland were significant

:57:02. > :57:06.philanthropists in the area, giving land and paying for many of the

:57:07. > :57:10.important public buildings and facilities we see today. This

:57:11. > :57:15.includes the fantastic Queens Park, the first public pleasure Park in

:57:16. > :57:20.the potteries opened to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.

:57:21. > :57:24.Once a lone oasis in an otherwise smoke-filled urban area, today we

:57:25. > :57:32.are one of the greenest cities in the country, with over 1380 hectares

:57:33. > :57:37.of parks and open space. One of the most important natural sites is in

:57:38. > :57:42.my constituency, which is parkour country Park, as a site of special

:57:43. > :57:47.scientific interest it is also the only national nature reserve in

:57:48. > :57:53.Stoke-on-Trent. Where once stood thousands of wattle ovens, only 47

:57:54. > :57:58.now remain. They are protected of course, and I'm pleased to say that

:57:59. > :58:02.half of these iconic structures are in my constituency, with the largest

:58:03. > :58:08.number in long-term. My constituency has no shortage of first-rate

:58:09. > :58:11.architectural gems, both old and new, many of these important

:58:12. > :58:17.historical sites have now been converted with the number becoming

:58:18. > :58:21.enterprise centres to host thriving small businesses including the

:58:22. > :58:26.Sutherland Institute, St James is house, and also Fenton Townhall

:58:27. > :58:31.which has been reborn as a centre for business and industry by the

:58:32. > :58:35.grandson of the original builder and benefactor William Meath Baker.

:58:36. > :58:39.There is a tremendous spirit of resourcefulness and renewal in my

:58:40. > :58:43.constituency and gives me great optimism that so many of our

:58:44. > :58:48.heritage landmarks will continue to find uses for a new age. My

:58:49. > :58:53.constituency is well connected by road and rail, as well as being

:58:54. > :58:57.within an hour's drive of four International airports. Sadly no

:58:58. > :59:01.longer in operation is the mere aerodrome opened in 1934 as

:59:02. > :59:07.Staffordshire's first municipal airport, closed in the 1970s and now

:59:08. > :59:13.redeveloped to form the residential estate of near Park. You might have

:59:14. > :59:20.seen my constituency from above where it still in use, seeing the

:59:21. > :59:24.industrial heartland across to the surrounding suburban communities of

:59:25. > :59:29.Trenton, Blurton, Western Connie and Mia, a mixture of different

:59:30. > :59:34.communities I'm proud to represent. Stoke-on-Trent has been a very

:59:35. > :59:39.global city, designing wares and products to fit every taste and

:59:40. > :59:43.every market. We have been exporting and trading products around the

:59:44. > :59:47.world for centuries. This has never been more true and important and it

:59:48. > :59:52.is today. We have some of the most advanced steel manufacturing in the

:59:53. > :59:56.world, just as with pottery steel manufacturing has strong roots in

:59:57. > :00:00.Stoke-on-Trent. Goodwins international based in my

:00:01. > :00:02.constituency is a world leader in mechanical engineering producing

:00:03. > :00:06.some of the most intricate steel components, both large and small.

:00:07. > :00:10.This works in partnership with Goodwins steel castings in the

:00:11. > :00:15.neighbouring Stoke-on-Trent Central where they have been producing

:00:16. > :00:20.machine castings since 1883, one of the ten oldest companies listed on

:00:21. > :00:24.the stock exchange. The products produced by Goodwins are of the

:00:25. > :00:27.highest standard being used right around the world in energy

:00:28. > :00:33.production, bridge constructions Armed Forces equipment. Today in

:00:34. > :00:37.Stoke-on-Trent are industries are becoming more diverse and more

:00:38. > :00:43.innovative than ever before. Rated nationally as the second best place

:00:44. > :00:48.to start a new business, number one city for business survival, ninth

:00:49. > :00:54.fastest growing economy in the UK, over 25% increase in productivity

:00:55. > :00:58.since 2010, ranked fourth for employment growth, one of the

:00:59. > :01:02.fastest growing housing markets and our big ceramics businesses

:01:03. > :01:05.increasing production by over 50%. People are waking up to what

:01:06. > :01:11.Stoke-on-Trent has to offer as one of the best connected places. We

:01:12. > :01:15.have kept ahead of the digital curve with some of the best broadband

:01:16. > :01:26.connectivity and rated as having the best 4G download speeds in the

:01:27. > :01:30.country. Jealous! Give us some tips. This has made Stoke-on-Trent a key

:01:31. > :01:34.hub for some of the leading brands in distribution and logistics, but

:01:35. > :01:38.also puts the city at the forefront of a revolution in digital and

:01:39. > :01:42.advanced manufacturing. Are clay -based industries particularly have

:01:43. > :01:48.become more diverse, expanding into new sectors, whether it be health

:01:49. > :01:50.care, tourism, high-tech materials or construction. Ceramics products

:01:51. > :01:55.are becoming ever more essential for a modern world. This has been

:01:56. > :01:58.exemplified by the investment recently made in the Wedgwood

:01:59. > :02:05.factory and visitors centre in my constituency. There fully

:02:06. > :02:08.refurbished site manufacture some of the finest wares in the world and

:02:09. > :02:13.the world of Wedgwood visitor centre is a must see for any terrorist.

:02:14. > :02:17.Most recently in Fenton we have seen the opening of Valentine play's

:02:18. > :02:21.brand-new facility continuing the growth in the industry are supplying

:02:22. > :02:25.clay and Robert aerials to potters around the country. Are growing

:02:26. > :02:29.economy and industry is supported by strong academic institutions.

:02:30. > :02:37.Staffordshire University is now rated one of the best nationally for

:02:38. > :02:40.some of this digital courses such as gaming. Complementing Staffordshire

:02:41. > :02:44.University we also have Keele University, and should declare an

:02:45. > :02:50.interest, Madam Deputy Speaker. My wife and I are both keel graduates.

:02:51. > :02:52.Is renowned for its academic strength internationally and won

:02:53. > :02:56.numerous awards for the quality of academia, including being ranked top

:02:57. > :03:01.nationally for student experience, student satisfaction and most

:03:02. > :03:04.recently being ranked gold in the teaching excellence framework.

:03:05. > :03:08.Importantly, these universities play an active role in the community and

:03:09. > :03:12.economy of North Staffordshire, playing a critical role in the

:03:13. > :03:15.innovation and development of our local industries. The business and

:03:16. > :03:20.people who have invested in Stoke-on-Trent South are rightly

:03:21. > :03:24.proud of what we have achieved. I am determined that as their strong

:03:25. > :03:28.voice in Parliament, we can continue to work together to create better

:03:29. > :03:32.jobs that will spread the net of opportunity wider. Critical to this

:03:33. > :03:35.will be securing the best possible deal from leaving the European

:03:36. > :03:41.Union, guaranteeing trade and ensuring ease of access to markets

:03:42. > :03:45.throughout the world. This is what people voted for overwhelmingly in

:03:46. > :03:50.the referendum in Stoke-on-Trent South. What people were saying to be

:03:51. > :03:52.on the doorstep during the general election campaign. I will call on

:03:53. > :03:56.the government to advanced trade agreements around the world as a

:03:57. > :04:03.more global Britain that supports businesses in Stoke-on-Trent South

:04:04. > :04:06.to sell their products abroad. This is about creating prosperity for

:04:07. > :04:10.every household in Stoke-on-Trent South, driving up skills and

:04:11. > :04:15.increasing the wages of local people. We need not just to see more

:04:16. > :04:21.jobs in Stoke-on-Trent South, but better jobs that pay higher wages

:04:22. > :04:24.and take full advantage of the talent that we have. In my time in

:04:25. > :04:29.the House I will be a strong advocate of measures to support

:04:30. > :04:32.industry and fulfil the promise of the government's industrial strategy

:04:33. > :04:38.of rebalancing the national economy. This includes the development of a

:04:39. > :04:41.industrial strategy that works for the potteries. We need to see

:04:42. > :04:44.investment in our infrastructure that will ensure businesses in

:04:45. > :04:46.Stoke-on-Trent can continue to thrive and local people are not

:04:47. > :04:53.blighted by sitting in traffic jams daily. It will mean improving our

:04:54. > :04:56.transport network to be fit for the future, improving rail and road

:04:57. > :05:01.connections to my constituency to help address congestion, ensuring

:05:02. > :05:05.that we see better local rail services and improved connectivity

:05:06. > :05:08.to Stoke-on-Trent from across the country. For our industries to grow

:05:09. > :05:11.and create the jobs we need locally we must also ensure greater energy

:05:12. > :05:15.security with infrastructure that matches the needs of our

:05:16. > :05:19.manufacturing sectors. As a city made up of towns we need to ensure

:05:20. > :05:23.that our town centres are healthy and that our high streets remain

:05:24. > :05:28.relevant to the local communities they serve. In long-term and Fenton

:05:29. > :05:32.I want to see the town centres become stronger with new housing and

:05:33. > :05:37.business is moving into our centres -- Longton. These are my priorities

:05:38. > :05:40.as a member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent South. Madam Deputy

:05:41. > :05:43.Speaker, I began by speaking about heritage and culture in

:05:44. > :05:47.Stoke-on-Trent. I could not have been more delighted that our city

:05:48. > :05:54.has been short listed for UK City of Culture in 2021.

:05:55. > :06:02.Stoke is an industry and are shaped by industry but has also left a

:06:03. > :06:05.stamp on national culture. Many Stokeys like myself are proud of the

:06:06. > :06:09.products we see around the world that have the back stamp of made in

:06:10. > :06:18.Stoke-on-Trent and made in Britain. You can often spot a Stokey turning

:06:19. > :06:23.over plates almost to see where it is made. The Palace of Westminster,

:06:24. > :06:24.like many great buildings across the country, is filled with products

:06:25. > :06:32.manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent, from the tableware to the floor, each

:06:33. > :06:36.piece and ambassador the Stoke-on-Trent. I was disappointed

:06:37. > :06:39.to find the claw restoration works going on in Central lobby using

:06:40. > :06:47.tiles manufactured in Jack Field, Shropshire. I was, however,

:06:48. > :06:50.reassured to discover that the powder used to produce these

:06:51. > :06:58.fantastic tiles are sourced from Stoke-on-Trent. I can think of no

:06:59. > :07:03.City that better celebrates its culture and heritage, or whose

:07:04. > :07:07.cultural identity or ambition is so closely bound with its industry and,

:07:08. > :07:12.worse. I think multitudes who flock to the many museums and factory

:07:13. > :07:21.shops to learn about our industries, and by Stoke-on-Trent products,

:07:22. > :07:31.gives a true experience of a true Victorian pottery factory. The

:07:32. > :07:35.unparalleled collection, on the first day of opening a factory,

:07:36. > :07:39.which started the Industrial Revolution in the potteries,

:07:40. > :07:44.recently rescued from private sale and export, the vase will now be on

:07:45. > :07:53.display for people to visit and enjoy. I think of our several league

:07:54. > :08:03.music, parks, canals and open spaces, I think of a City of culture

:08:04. > :08:07.and a picture Stoke-on-Trent. Of course, I think of the famous

:08:08. > :08:11.Staffordshire oatcakes, which I would encourage all honourable and

:08:12. > :08:16.right honourable numbers to try from one of the many oatcake shops when

:08:17. > :08:21.they get a chance to visit. There is so much that is culturally unique

:08:22. > :08:24.about Stoke-on-Trent, and winning this bid would help continue the

:08:25. > :08:28.revival of Stoke on Trent as a vibrant and innovative core of the

:08:29. > :08:38.UK economy. It will be an absolute pleasure to back City of culture bid

:08:39. > :08:42.as Stoke-on-Trent South MP, and when this recognition in 2021. This

:08:43. > :08:47.debate is about drugs policy, and the use of psychoactive substances

:08:48. > :08:51.is particularly now increasing. This is ruining lives and is a

:08:52. > :08:57.significant cause of crime on our streets. This is not only impacting

:08:58. > :09:00.on police services, but also put pressure on our National Health

:09:01. > :09:07.Service, which has to deal with much of a human cost of drug abuse. Far

:09:08. > :09:10.too many ordinary people in my constituency have felt the impacts

:09:11. > :09:15.of drug use, and told me they do not feel safe in our communities. I will

:09:16. > :09:19.work with Staffordshire Police and Matthew Alice, our Police and Crime

:09:20. > :09:24.Commissioner, to ensure that we continue to see drug use decline and

:09:25. > :09:28.act against the associated crimes. Much progress is being made by local

:09:29. > :09:33.partners and communities, putting in place public space protection orders

:09:34. > :09:39.in Longton has made a difference. I have seen the fantastic work put in

:09:40. > :09:43.by volunteers locally in my constituency. Significant work has

:09:44. > :09:47.been done to help ensure that people feel safe and welcome when visiting

:09:48. > :09:51.the town centre, and directing people who need help to get the

:09:52. > :09:55.right support. Often, the misuse of drugs can be linked to mental health

:09:56. > :09:58.problems, and I have been pleased to see Staffordshire leading the way to

:09:59. > :10:02.ensure that people with mental health problems get better support.

:10:03. > :10:07.Local services, the police and voluntary sector continue to work

:10:08. > :10:10.more closely in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to help people get

:10:11. > :10:15.better support to tackle addictions and change their lifestyles. I want

:10:16. > :10:20.to play my part in ensuring that we continue to tackle these issues in

:10:21. > :10:23.our communities, so we continue to see drug related crimes produce, and

:10:24. > :10:33.that people with addictions get the right you. Ian Lucas. Firstly, I

:10:34. > :10:37.would like to congratulate the honourable member, the new

:10:38. > :10:41.honourable member for Stoke-on-Trent South in his excellent maiden

:10:42. > :10:46.speech, and his tales of the multitude travelling to Stoke. The

:10:47. > :10:51.last multitudes travel to Stoke from Wrexham was in the FA Cup March five

:10:52. > :10:55.years ago, Wrexham led for five minutes, but unfortunately, it

:10:56. > :10:59.didn't end well. It was a wonderful speech, which did end well, and may

:11:00. > :11:07.I wish him the best for his future in the House. Madam Deputy Speaker,

:11:08. > :11:10.this debate today is on the government's new drugs policy, and I

:11:11. > :11:16.have considered in some detail the drug strategy document which came

:11:17. > :11:20.out last week. I'm afraid, I did find it rather disappointing. I was

:11:21. > :11:26.very pleased indeed that the document was produced, and I'm glad

:11:27. > :11:31.the government is looking at this issue very seriously. But I have to

:11:32. > :11:38.say that we have a real crisis in this country in the area of drug

:11:39. > :11:47.strategy, and we have interestingly heard just from the previous Speaker

:11:48. > :11:51.about the issue of novel psychoactive substances. In my

:11:52. > :11:56.constituency of Wrexham, it is a major issue at the present time. I

:11:57. > :12:01.have to say that the point that the Shadow Home Secretary made in her

:12:02. > :12:06.speech earlier on was very apposite. Because it is absolutely clear that

:12:07. > :12:13.the decline in resources that have been available both for the police

:12:14. > :12:22.service and for local authorities has had a major impact on the

:12:23. > :12:28.problem of drugs in our communities. Because I saw, in 2010, a police

:12:29. > :12:36.service working together with local authorities to provide a really

:12:37. > :12:41.excellent law and order policy, one that we that we built in the Labour

:12:42. > :12:48.Party from 1997 to create true community policing, when issues

:12:49. > :12:52.arose, they were identified early and we began to address them. I feel

:12:53. > :12:56.that in the last seven years, there's been a real decline in the

:12:57. > :13:02.quality of our criminal justice system, and the way in which we have

:13:03. > :13:10.approached the issue of dealing with drugs policy on the streets. Now, I

:13:11. > :13:16.don't have the certainties of many speakers in this debate on the issue

:13:17. > :13:22.of decriminalisation, and in many respects, I envy them. I worked as a

:13:23. > :13:26.solicitor before I was a member of Parliament, and in the 1980s I

:13:27. > :13:32.worked in Birkenhead and represented as a defence solicitor many, many

:13:33. > :13:39.young heroin addicts at this time. It has really convinced me

:13:40. > :13:42.profoundly of the danger of drugs, and the horrific impact they can

:13:43. > :13:48.have not just the individuals concerned, but also of the families

:13:49. > :13:55.of those individuals. So I tread very, very wary league indeed. If

:13:56. > :14:01.any sort of message is perceived that it is OK to take drugs, because

:14:02. > :14:07.I have seen a very negative impact -- wearily. The eloquent speech made

:14:08. > :14:12.by the honourable gentleman from Reigate, and many of the

:14:13. > :14:17.interventions that have been made, and also I listened carefully to my

:14:18. > :14:22.friend from Manchester Worthington, too. And I am struggling for the

:14:23. > :14:25.right way ahead on this. If we do have a world commission on the

:14:26. > :14:30.matter, I wouldn't be resistant to that, but what I see at the moment,

:14:31. > :14:38.in my community, is that we have an issue of MPs, which is not under

:14:39. > :14:41.control. This is not just an issue in Wrexham, it is an issue in

:14:42. > :14:45.Manchester, and I am sure in a lot of other towns up and down the

:14:46. > :14:49.country. The legislation in place at the current time isn't working

:14:50. > :14:54.properly, because I have been told in discussions I have had with

:14:55. > :15:03.police officers, it isn't possible to make effective arrests for people

:15:04. > :15:10.taking MPs. It is too expensive to have the substances that they are

:15:11. > :15:17.taking tested, and people are receiving penalties of possession of

:15:18. > :15:22.a class B drug that has no effective outcome, and has no impact at all on

:15:23. > :15:30.preventing them from reoffending. This is creating a major public

:15:31. > :15:36.order problems. This is a problem that is not being addressed at the

:15:37. > :15:46.present time. I cannot see how this document and this strategy is going

:15:47. > :15:50.to prevent the problem from continuing, and if anything, getting

:15:51. > :15:56.worse. I will give way. Can you recall the passage of the

:15:57. > :16:00.psychoactive substances Bill last year when it said that the only

:16:01. > :16:08.model we were following was a very similar Bill that was passed in

:16:09. > :16:12.Ireland and Poland. In both of those countries, prohibition of the

:16:13. > :16:21.psychoactive substances increased use from an island, 16% to 22%, and

:16:22. > :16:26.increased half. And in this country, it increases the problem, it

:16:27. > :16:32.increases the number of users and increases the number of deaths. It

:16:33. > :16:35.is a continuing problem, it is an increasing problem, but it was a

:16:36. > :16:40.problem before the act was passed. This is where we have a difficult

:16:41. > :16:45.issue, which does not have an easy solution. I think the act has

:16:46. > :16:51.already had to be amended to reclassify the drug, and also to

:16:52. > :16:56.make possession and offence. Initially, I believe that wasn't the

:16:57. > :16:59.case. There were problems in having effective enforcement, because it

:17:00. > :17:03.wasn't possible to arrest people that have clearly taken these

:17:04. > :17:08.substances. They were in a poor condition as a result of that. But

:17:09. > :17:14.they haven't actually committed an offence, because they were simply in

:17:15. > :17:18.possession of the drug in question. There has had to be an amendment

:17:19. > :17:26.already relating to the law, and I believe there is a review due under

:17:27. > :17:30.the act at the beginning of 2018. It needs to happen immediately. I

:17:31. > :17:33.raised it a couple of weeks ago with the Minister in question is, and she

:17:34. > :17:40.said to me that this was working well. And it is clearly not. I

:17:41. > :17:46.really... It really worried me that she gave me that response. Because

:17:47. > :17:51.in my constituency, I was contacted on Sunday by constituents who are

:17:52. > :17:57.terrified in the centre of the town because of the conduct of some

:17:58. > :18:02.people affected by this. It's an urgent issue that has to be

:18:03. > :18:07.addressed now. The drug strategy as it stands is simply not addressing

:18:08. > :18:12.it properly. Part of the reason is because capacity and understanding

:18:13. > :18:15.is not within both the local authorities. And I think also the

:18:16. > :18:21.police. I am not sure they are really clear about what the correct

:18:22. > :18:27.approach to the issue is. I think we need to have an intelligent

:18:28. > :18:31.conversation about what the nature of this problem is. And we also need

:18:32. > :18:35.to find out about the individuals actually taking these substances,

:18:36. > :18:42.because every individual has their own story and life. It is clear they

:18:43. > :18:45.have made choices at that stage to take these substances. But they are

:18:46. > :18:49.having a massive impact on other people and other communities,

:18:50. > :18:53.because of the way they behave. I would like to know, for example, how

:18:54. > :18:58.they pay for these items. And I would like to know, also, what the

:18:59. > :19:05.Department for Work and Pensions in this is. Because some people have

:19:06. > :19:10.been given benefits, and it seems to me, they using the benefit money

:19:11. > :19:15.they are receiving to take these substances. I have a lot of people

:19:16. > :19:18.in my constituency office who had their benefits taken away from them

:19:19. > :19:22.that can't walk into the surgery. There seems to be a sanction applied

:19:23. > :19:28.to them, but not other people who are choosing to take substances in

:19:29. > :19:32.the centre of my community. I think the Department for Work and

:19:33. > :19:36.Pensions, identity they have been mentioned in this debate so far,

:19:37. > :19:39.which is the largest spending government department, they need to

:19:40. > :19:43.be involved in this process to find out what role they are playing with

:19:44. > :19:54.individuals to whom they are paying benefits that help them to take

:19:55. > :19:58.these substances. I will stop to my observations to MPs. But I will

:19:59. > :20:02.finally mention the maiden speech from my honourable friend from

:20:03. > :20:07.Slough, which I found deeply moving. The first Sikh I remember as a child

:20:08. > :20:14.was Bishop of Adie, who had even better turbans then you have. But

:20:15. > :20:18.you control harder. I was touched in particular by your reference to your

:20:19. > :20:21.parents, who would be very, very proud if they still with us, but

:20:22. > :20:30.they will be proud your achievements. And I also remember in

:20:31. > :20:34.my maiden speech, I talked about a young boy of 14 who was in court

:20:35. > :20:38.with 24 burglaries against his name because it was a heroin addict, and

:20:39. > :20:44.that was in 1988 that I've represented him. My speech contains

:20:45. > :20:49.a lot more questions than answers, but I do know, and I don't think we

:20:50. > :20:53.have made much progress on drugs policy since I came into the housing

:20:54. > :20:58.2001. We had an interesting today. We need to look at this very much

:20:59. > :21:04.again, but there is a real, immediate problem on the issue that

:21:05. > :21:05.needs to be addressed by the government and I implore them to

:21:06. > :21:16.take it more seriously. SPEAKER: To make her maiden speech,

:21:17. > :21:19.Emma Hardy. Thank you for the opportunity to make my speech during

:21:20. > :21:23.this important debate. Since arriving in Parliament I have spent

:21:24. > :21:27.the past few weeks being greeted with the now familiar phrase, you

:21:28. > :21:31.are the new Alan Johnson, are you? Which despite the obvious and not

:21:32. > :21:37.quite so obvious differences is something I'm very proud to be. Alan

:21:38. > :21:40.Johnson was the MP for Hull West and has all 4/20 years and built a

:21:41. > :21:46.formidable and proud reputation as a national political figure that most

:21:47. > :21:49.importantly for the people of Hull West and Hessle he was a

:21:50. > :21:53.well-respected local MP working hard to represent the people who elected

:21:54. > :21:57.him to this House. Notably, Alan worked tirelessly to rectify the

:21:58. > :22:01.appalling injustice and hardship suffered by the trawlermen of Hull

:22:02. > :22:05.and their families. This writing of runs earned him the everlasting

:22:06. > :22:11.respect and admiration of the city. -- writing of wrong journey is from

:22:12. > :22:16.absolute poverty to high office and it's a story of triumph over

:22:17. > :22:19.adversity and it is well documented in his autobiography. I know he

:22:20. > :22:22.wouldn't want me to miss an opportunity to mention if you are

:22:23. > :22:28.interested in reading more about Alan's life is to read his

:22:29. > :22:31.autobiography available in all good book shops. My part has been

:22:32. > :22:35.different to Alan's but I'm proud to have also come from a straight

:22:36. > :22:38.stomach strong trade unionist background, proud to have been a

:22:39. > :22:42.primary teacher. I've never worked for an MP and have not come from a

:22:43. > :22:46.family of politicians. My journey has been paid here by my desire to

:22:47. > :22:53.write and wrongs. Everyone of us have made sacrifices to be here. --

:22:54. > :22:57.write sarongs. And so have all of our families, in particular my two

:22:58. > :23:01.wonderful daughters, Olivia and Isobel but it's a sacrifice that

:23:02. > :23:07.must be made because politics cannot be the preserve of the rich,

:23:08. > :23:10.powerful and privileged. Back in 2011 when I first started

:23:11. > :23:14.campaigning against the changes to education I was told that my opinion

:23:15. > :23:20.was unimportant because I was only a part-time infant school teacher. But

:23:21. > :23:23.in the words of the Dalai Lama, if you think you're too small to make a

:23:24. > :23:29.difference, try sleeping with a mosquito. I am honoured to be a

:23:30. > :23:32.patron of the Warren in Hull which gives support to marginalised and

:23:33. > :23:37.vulnerable young people and one of the things I would love my legacy to

:23:38. > :23:41.be is that I encouraged and inspired so many other people who were also

:23:42. > :23:46.told that their opinions didn't matter, to get involved in politics,

:23:47. > :23:51.because everybody matters equally. I've heard many maiden speeches and

:23:52. > :23:55.people talk of the beauty of their constituency, but what makes a place

:23:56. > :23:58.is not the rolling hills, it's not the Lakes, it's not the skyscrapers,

:23:59. > :24:05.what makes a place beautiful is the people that live there, and that is

:24:06. > :24:09.why Hull West and Hessle is the best place to live and why I'm so

:24:10. > :24:12.honoured to be their member of Parliament and represent them. It's

:24:13. > :24:15.not a stereotype to say that people from the north are friendly and

:24:16. > :24:21.compassionate, it is quite simply a statement of fact. But never mistake

:24:22. > :24:26.friendliness and compassion for weakness. Charles the first learned

:24:27. > :24:32.not to underestimate the people of Hull when he was turned away from

:24:33. > :24:35.Hull in 1642 leading to the siege of Hull, an event that was a major step

:24:36. > :24:39.on the road to the English Civil War, and nor did anybody

:24:40. > :24:43.underestimate one of Hull's other famous sons, William Wilberforce, in

:24:44. > :24:47.his tireless fight to end slavery, and more recently the headscarf

:24:48. > :24:50.revolutionaries, a group of women from Hull who took on the

:24:51. > :24:56.establishment in the 1960s to improve safety in the tool industry.

:24:57. > :25:02.This year is an incredible year for Hull, we are the City of Culture,

:25:03. > :25:06.and I take this opportunity to extend a welcome everybody to come

:25:07. > :25:10.back two hours and experience it for yourself. As an infant teacher I

:25:11. > :25:15.used to give my pupils and historical tour of the city,

:25:16. > :25:17.pointing out the evidence of our fishing heritage, magnificent 13th

:25:18. > :25:24.century minced and beautiful architecture, so if you come up I

:25:25. > :25:27.will even throw in a free tour. -- minster. Hull is hosting the

:25:28. > :25:30.national UK private event and I'm delighted to be involved and good

:25:31. > :25:34.luck to the member on the opposite benches for his task in trying to

:25:35. > :25:37.get Stoke-on-Trent as City of Culture. I am incredibly proud to

:25:38. > :25:41.represent Hessle as well, the town where I live where my girls attend

:25:42. > :25:44.school, most famously known for the Humber Bridge, which just this week

:25:45. > :25:50.has been given a grade one listed status, but I also highly recommend

:25:51. > :25:53.the Hessle feast. Since it was as an infant teacher that I became

:25:54. > :25:58.politicised, it will be no surprise to anybody that I want to focus the

:25:59. > :26:01.House's attention on education and speak during this important debate

:26:02. > :26:05.on drugs. There must be a drugs education programme as part of a

:26:06. > :26:13.wider personal, social and health education to keep our children safe.

:26:14. > :26:17.But PHS E, like so many arts subject, is being pushed out because

:26:18. > :26:20.of the high-stakes accountability in our schools for sub there is no

:26:21. > :26:24.point having a drugs education programme when there is no time to

:26:25. > :26:28.teach it. Some parents can compensate for the narrowing of this

:26:29. > :26:33.curriculum by paying for music, dance, arts, drama or sports club,

:26:34. > :26:37.but many can't and we are waiting the talents and abilities of so many

:26:38. > :26:42.of our children because of the failed way we judge schools. This

:26:43. > :26:46.pressure that schools face is manifesting itself as pressure on

:26:47. > :26:49.our children. The Prime Minister thinks schools can solve the mental

:26:50. > :26:53.health crisis facing our children, this mental health crisis is

:26:54. > :26:59.contributed by her government's education assessment system. We

:27:00. > :27:04.should not be making our schools learning factories, who churn out

:27:05. > :27:09.compliant, unquestioning units for work. We want our children to be

:27:10. > :27:14.creative, to question, to enquire, to explore, to think independently,

:27:15. > :27:18.especially during this era of fake news. We are discussing the reform

:27:19. > :27:22.of drugs law without asking ourselves if we only ever teach our

:27:23. > :27:27.children to obey adults unquestioningly, how can they ever

:27:28. > :27:30.understand when they shouldn't? Education provided my father his

:27:31. > :27:36.route out of poverty and the route for his three brothers too. My dad

:27:37. > :27:39.left education with next to nothing in the way of qualifications and it

:27:40. > :27:43.was through evening classes and further education that he went on to

:27:44. > :27:48.become a local primary headteacher. The underinvestment in further

:27:49. > :27:52.education is denying people that second chance. 31% of children in

:27:53. > :27:55.Hull live in poverty and I don't think it's right for any child's

:27:56. > :28:01.life story to be determined by birth. But with the cuts facing Hull

:28:02. > :28:06.College, Sure Start and all of education, how can we say we are

:28:07. > :28:10.giving our young people today those same opportunities and those same

:28:11. > :28:14.second chances? But it's not just further education suffering, it is

:28:15. > :28:18.all of education. While I welcome the recent announcement for extra

:28:19. > :28:22.funding, it's not an. Inflation and other factors mean that schools

:28:23. > :28:26.still face a real term cuts to their budgets and these cuts are driving

:28:27. > :28:33.up class sizes, reducing the number of teaching assistants, increasing

:28:34. > :28:35.the number of unqualified teachers and reducing the curriculum options

:28:36. > :28:37.available. One of the crucial lessons in life, which everybody

:28:38. > :28:41.across all benches has learned, is that when you fall down you've got

:28:42. > :28:48.to pick yourself back up again. But I know I can because I'm lucky, I

:28:49. > :28:51.have two brilliant parents who are always there for me. But we are

:28:52. > :28:55.selling a lie if we don't acknowledge how much harder it is

:28:56. > :28:58.for some people. It's like telling them when it is a fair fight when

:28:59. > :29:02.they start with two hands tied behind their backs already on the

:29:03. > :29:06.ground and this is why I'm fighting for fairer funding for Hull City

:29:07. > :29:11.Council. They have seen cuts in their core spending power by 32%

:29:12. > :29:15.since 2010 for sub they cannot invest in those services to really

:29:16. > :29:19.help people have that fair start, an equal chance, when all they are

:29:20. > :29:23.doing is managing year-on-year cuts. All of these drugs education

:29:24. > :29:30.programmes need funding properly too if we want them to be successful.

:29:31. > :29:33.The political choices made by this government to cut benefits,

:29:34. > :29:40.especially to disabled people, to underinvested in education, to

:29:41. > :29:44.underinvested in NHS, to deny public sector workers pay rise and make

:29:45. > :29:47.people in Hull West and Hessle suffer and I am here to represent

:29:48. > :29:51.everyone in Hull West and Hessle, not just those who voted for me and

:29:52. > :29:54.not just those on the electoral roll, I want to be the voice for

:29:55. > :29:57.everyone and I will hold this government to account for the

:29:58. > :30:01.decisions, and I stand here with my colleagues on these benches to say

:30:02. > :30:09.there is an alternative because austerity is a political choice, and

:30:10. > :30:15.one I will always choose to oppose. SPEAKER: Norman Lamb. Thank you,

:30:16. > :30:17.Madam Deputy Speaker command can I congratulate the honourable member

:30:18. > :30:28.for an immensely impressive maiden speech? I confess that I am quite a

:30:29. > :30:31.fan of her predecessor. I am too! I am clearly also a fan of the

:30:32. > :30:34.honourable member because she spoke incredibly powerfully and I

:30:35. > :30:39.congratulate her for it, along with the other two honourable members who

:30:40. > :30:43.have made maiden speeches today. I wanted to say briefly that the

:30:44. > :30:47.honourable member for Slough gave a very, very powerful and moving

:30:48. > :30:53.speech, which I am just very glad I was here to witness, so thank you

:30:54. > :30:58.for that as well. Madam Deputy Speaker, I think this has been a

:30:59. > :31:03.fascinating debate. There have been more voices for reformed band I've

:31:04. > :31:10.heard before, and I am particularly encouraged by the honourable member

:31:11. > :31:19.for Manchester for his contribution. I will come onto my thoughts on that

:31:20. > :31:21.in a moment. I want to start by acknowledging that there are

:31:22. > :31:27.important things in this strategy which I wanted to note. I do welcome

:31:28. > :31:32.the shift away from an over emphasis on abstinence, which in many

:31:33. > :31:38.respects was actually damaging. I also welcome the focus on evidence

:31:39. > :31:45.-based drug treatment programmes. And also the emphasis on addressing

:31:46. > :31:51.the underlying causes of addiction, whether it's poor housing, mental

:31:52. > :31:55.health issues, and so on. Those are good things and we shall acknowledge

:31:56. > :32:01.that. I also welcome the references to drug rehabilitation requires

:32:02. > :32:04.Dummett requirements as a sentencing option as well as alcohol

:32:05. > :32:12.rehabilitation requirements and mental health treatment

:32:13. > :32:15.requirements. This is a sensible innovation. I note that preparation

:32:16. > :32:20.of a critical to ensure good access to treatment and the potential for a

:32:21. > :32:27.maximum waiting time, that all makes sense. But I do just want to mention

:32:28. > :32:29.the reality that certainly with mental health treatment

:32:30. > :32:35.requirements, I think introduced by the last Labour government, a very

:32:36. > :32:41.good policy response, but virtually never used across the country.

:32:42. > :32:44.Because, organising mental health treatment services along with the

:32:45. > :32:48.criminal justice system has just proved to be beyond most parts of

:32:49. > :32:55.the country. I don't want to see the same happened with drug and alcohol

:32:56. > :32:58.orders. So it is really important the government focuses on making

:32:59. > :33:02.sure that all three of those sentencing options are actually

:33:03. > :33:07.available everywhere, to ensure that where there is an offence where the

:33:08. > :33:11.underlying cause is an addiction or a mental health problem that the

:33:12. > :33:15.person gets access to treatment, not just punishment. That's incredibly

:33:16. > :33:21.important. I wanted to focus, though, on two key objections. The

:33:22. > :33:25.first objection is one that's been mentioned by other people, other

:33:26. > :33:32.honourable members, and it's the cut in public health funding. Frankly,

:33:33. > :33:37.this just makes no sense at all. If we are to ensure that the NHS as a

:33:38. > :33:43.whole is more sustainable we have to shift resources to prevention, not

:33:44. > :33:50.cut the funding that's available. So it is completely counter-productive.

:33:51. > :33:55.The King's Fund in a report published just last week,

:33:56. > :33:59.highlighted the fact that there is now planned expenditure cuts from

:34:00. > :34:03.councils across the country on really important public health

:34:04. > :34:10.programmes. Sexual health clinics and reducing harm for smoking on

:34:11. > :34:16.alcohol and drugs. A total of ?85 million cut, and the spend on

:34:17. > :34:24.tackling drug misuse for adults involves a planned cuts of ?22

:34:25. > :34:28.million, 5.5% for sub even-numbered government's strategy, which I will

:34:29. > :34:32.explain in a moment that I disagree with, it totally undermines the

:34:33. > :34:36.government's strategy to cut funding from the treatment programmes that

:34:37. > :34:44.can help people recover. Unless the government seeks to address that it

:34:45. > :34:49.will simply fail in its objective. But my second objective is far more

:34:50. > :34:54.fundamental and relates to the philosophy behind the government's

:34:55. > :35:00.approach to drug use. I would start by making the point that

:35:01. > :35:05.instinctively I am hostile to drugs. As a father of two boys now in their

:35:06. > :35:12.20s I get really anxious at the thought of my children, our

:35:13. > :35:17.children, taking drugs, or indeed excessive use of alcohol or smoking.

:35:18. > :35:22.Because, remember, in all of the talk about harm from drugs, smoking,

:35:23. > :35:27.a legal product, kills 100,000 people in our country every year.

:35:28. > :35:31.There is no consistency in government policy at all here. And

:35:32. > :35:39.that simply is not good enough. So, my starting point is not to advocate

:35:40. > :35:44.a free for all, but to find an effective approach to the use of

:35:45. > :35:45.drugs, which seeks to reduce harm. Surely that's actually what we

:35:46. > :35:54.should all be searching for. This amounts in my view the

:35:55. > :35:57.government approach, and the approach of successive governments,

:35:58. > :36:02.and indeed, much of the Western world, announced to a monumental

:36:03. > :36:08.failure of public policy. And we need a fundamental new approach.

:36:09. > :36:15.Now, the Royal Society for Public health, in its response to the

:36:16. > :36:19.government's strategy, says, "It falls far short of the fundamental

:36:20. > :36:26.reorientation of policy towards public health and away from criminal

:36:27. > :36:29.justice needed to tackle rising drug harm. Decriminalisation of drug

:36:30. > :36:34.possession and use is a critical enabler that would enable drug

:36:35. > :36:38.treatment services to reach as many people as possible as effectively as

:36:39. > :36:46.possible. Instead, the government still continues to lead with

:36:47. > :36:51.unhelpful rhetoric about tough law enforcement that contributes to the

:36:52. > :36:56.marginalisation and stigmatisation of vulnerable drug users." That is

:36:57. > :37:01.from tugger-macro the Royal Society of Public health. And if the

:37:02. > :37:05.government is interested in following the right approach, surely

:37:06. > :37:14.it should listen carefully to those experts in public health. Take also

:37:15. > :37:20.the tugger-macro British medical Journal editorial from November last

:37:21. > :37:24.year, it makes an important point. The effectiveness of prohibition

:37:25. > :37:29.laws, colloquially known as the war on drugs, must be judged on

:37:30. > :37:34.outcomes, what it actually achieves. Too often, it says, "The war on

:37:35. > :37:41.drugs plays out as a war on the millions of people who use drugs,

:37:42. > :37:48.and this proportionately..." This is a really important point, "On people

:37:49. > :37:54.who are poor or from ethnic minorities." If the effect of the

:37:55. > :38:00.government's policy is as it says in the British Medical Journal the

:38:01. > :38:07.government should think again. All wars cause human rights violations.

:38:08. > :38:11.The war on drugs is no different. Criminally controlled drug supply

:38:12. > :38:19.markets lead to appalling violence, causing an estimated 65,000 to

:38:20. > :38:24.80,000 deaths in Mexico in the last decade. That's just an extraordinary

:38:25. > :38:31.death toll. And it's one that surely we should not ignore. I want to

:38:32. > :38:40.focus, Madam Deputy is bigger, on the number of people who die. We

:38:41. > :38:47.heard that a third of European deaths are render UK. Ten families

:38:48. > :38:52.arboretum at every single day as a result of drug use. That could be a

:38:53. > :38:58.loved one of any of us in the chamber. If we think that government

:38:59. > :39:01.official policy is perhaps contributing to that, and that is my

:39:02. > :39:10.argument, that it is, we need to think again. In 2015, the numbers of

:39:11. > :39:18.deaths were up by over 10%. The previous year by 14%. The previous

:39:19. > :39:26.year to that, by nearly 20%. This is a shocking failure of official

:39:27. > :39:34.policy. Deaths from heroin doubled between 2012 and 2015. One

:39:35. > :39:45.interesting aspect of reducing the harm of particularly heroin, which

:39:46. > :39:48.the honourable gentleman mentioned, Glasgow is currently piloting a

:39:49. > :39:52.solution in the City. It is worth noting in this debate that that is

:39:53. > :39:56.an option we should be looking at and noting the results of that with

:39:57. > :40:00.interest. I am grateful for the intervention. I totally agree with

:40:01. > :40:06.the honourable member. I was going on to mention that in a moment. Let

:40:07. > :40:13.me quote from Anne-Marie Coburn, who has been mentioned in this debate

:40:14. > :40:17.already. She says, "I invite the Prime Minister to come and stand by

:40:18. > :40:24.my daughter's grave and tell me her approach to drugs is working." That

:40:25. > :40:34.is a parent of someone who has lost a daughter. The claim in the

:40:35. > :40:40.strategy that this all relates, that the increase in the number of deaths

:40:41. > :40:44.relates to a problem of ageing drug users, it simply won't wash. The

:40:45. > :40:49.same demographic is happening across Europe. Including in Portugal, they

:40:50. > :40:56.have not seen an increase in deaths that we have seen. We have to ask

:40:57. > :41:03.the question why. The deaths per 100,000 of the population are ten

:41:04. > :41:06.times the rate in Portugal. I appreciate the Minister saying she

:41:07. > :41:11.would listen carefully to what I said. And I hold her also in high

:41:12. > :41:16.regard, but when we have a death rate ten times that of Portugal, and

:41:17. > :41:20.they have chosen to take an approach, which incidentally now

:41:21. > :41:24.commands cross-party support in Portugal from left to right, surely

:41:25. > :41:29.she should stop and listen, and investigate further the approach

:41:30. > :41:39.they are taking in Portugal, which has resulted in such a reduction in

:41:40. > :41:44.the number of deaths from drug use. 1573 people died of heroin overdose

:41:45. > :41:50.in this country in 2015. That is shameful. In the past, people might

:41:51. > :41:54.have dismissed those people as being victims of their own stupidity. We

:41:55. > :42:00.can't access that any longer, that sort of thinking. These are people,

:42:01. > :42:04.citizens of our country. They are losing their lives. They would not

:42:05. > :42:09.have died if they had access to the treatment rooms that the honourable

:42:10. > :42:12.member referred to. So why is it, when I understand that the UK

:42:13. > :42:19.Government is resistant to the project proposed in Glasgow, which

:42:20. > :42:24.has the opportunity to save lives, surely bishop be part of the

:42:25. > :42:29.strategy? The strategy doesn't even mention drug use brooms of this

:42:30. > :42:34.sort. Why on earth not given that all the evidence points to

:42:35. > :42:40.significant reductions in deaths as a result? No one dies of an overdose

:42:41. > :42:44.when they take their drugs in safe rooms like that. So why aren't we

:42:45. > :42:50.moving to that? It is a disgrace, frankly, that we are not. The

:42:51. > :42:55.honourable member is stating his case. Having visited quite a number

:42:56. > :43:01.of safe rooms across the world, having studied the academic research

:43:02. > :43:08.into them, isn't an overstatement to suggest that nobody dies there. The

:43:09. > :43:13.question of safe injecting is one of the aspects of death, but as all the

:43:14. > :43:20.Dutch surveys demonstrate, whether you come off injecting or come off

:43:21. > :43:25.heroin, it is the fundamental determiner of how you will live if