To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2007, Official Report, column 189W, on crime statistics: Somerset, how many people were charged with (a) possession of illegal drugs and (b) possession with intent to supply in each of the last 10 years, broken down by police authority area; and how many of those charged were (i) found guilty and (ii) under the age of 18 years. (125459)

Information on charging for these offences is not held centrally.

Available information relates to persons dealt with under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 by police force area in England and Wales between 1995 and 2004 who were: (a)i found guilty; (b) aged under 18 years and found guilty; (c) cautioned by police; (d) aged under 18 years and cautioned. The information has been placed in the House Libraries.

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.