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)
I do not want prison places to be taken up by people from whom an attempt is being made to obtain evidence to help with the charging process. I am happy to write to the hon. Lady in more detail about some of the issues.
Our aim is to shut down loopholes—I know that I used the phrase about magic mushrooms, but it is also relevant to enforcement powers—that allow suspects to slow down the system, use up court time, prevent the law from being enforced efficiently and effectively, and interfere with the judicial process. We want to shut down those opportunities for people to block the process of the law unnecessarily, and to introduce a deterrent factor.
Those initiatives have been discussed with the police, including through the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the police support them. I am pleased to say that the police have a very good funding settlement and record numbers of officers, and money to achieve what we want them to—catching criminals and achieving successful prosecutions and convictions.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 22 ordered to stand part of the Bill.