Clause 22 - Financial provision
Drugs Bill
4:45 pm
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)
On the efficiency savings to be achieved, I am pleased to say that because of the record resources we are putting into initiatives such as the drug interventions programme, we already have the basic structures in place in many areas with high levels of drug-related crime to meet the needs of those coming through the system. As we know, people are being tested on charge, but they are also voluntarily being assessed. One issue that we have addressed is how to make better use of the resources provided under such schemes and of arrest referral workers. However, a large number of the people who are currently being charged are likely to be seen anyway, although we are now moving that forward to arrest.