Clause 9 - Initial assessment following testing for presence of class A drugs
Drugs Bill
9:30 am
Ms Caroline Flint (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (reducing organised and international crime, anti drugs co-ordination and international and European issues), Home Office; Don Valley, Labour)
I shall clarify the matter. We are talking about someone who has just been tested for class A drugs. Should that prove positive, they will see an assessor at the police custody suite. We are talking about that person. If the Bill is enacted we will not only have drug tests on arrest, but a mandatory assessment. Straight away, or as soon as possible, after that test, usually in one of the custody suites in the police station, someone will meet and engage with that person about their drug-taking behaviour. The point of that is to strike while the iron is hot. Such people are there primarily to engage with the person. They might have a background in drug support and counselling, but more than anything else we want them to motivate the person to listen. Their job will be to engage with the person and tell them what is on offer, such as prescribing, immediate access to a general practitioner or a hospital, or identifying whether the person has other problems in his life.