County Lines Drug Trafficking - Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:08 am on 19 March 2020.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Lord Woolley of Woodford Lord Woolley of Woodford Crossbench 11:08, 19 March 2020

Does the Minister agree that many of those caught up in county lines drug trafficking are extremely vulnerable children and teenagers, and furthermore, that our response should and must be cross-governmental? We need to have a grown-up conversation about drugs policy. The present policy—often described as a “war on drugs”—seems only to embolden gangs and cause misery in many communities. At the other end of this joined-up thinking, particularly to stop the disproportionality of black children being excluded from schools, must be an unprecedented recruitment drive of black male teachers.