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News story: System launched to help tackle harms from new psychoactive substances

Last year, according to the 2015 to 2016 Crime Survey for England and Wales, one in 40 (2.5%) young adults aged 16 to 24 took a new psychoactive substance and there is evidence of widespread use among vulnerable adults such as prisoners and homeless people. Whilst specialist services are responding, these harms are often poorly understood in frontline healthcare services and there is little guidance available to them.

Public Health England (PHE) in collaboration with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is piloting a national system to help better monitor the negative effects of NPS and share best treatment practice across a variety of settings, including A&E, sexual health clinics, mental health services, prison health services, drug treatment services and GP surgeries.

The UK-wide, easy to use Report Illicit Drug Reaction (RIDR) system will be accessible to all front line health staff. Information about the drug and its effects will be recorded anonymously using an online portal. Data from the tool will be analysed by experts to identify patterns of symptoms and harms. This will be used to inform treatment guidance and help staff deal more quickly with unknown substances, and improve patient safety.

Rosanna O’Connor, Director of Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco at PHE, said:

The contents of NPS frequently change and their effects can be dangerous and unpredictable. These substances can cause serious problems to both mental and physical health.

Last year’s ban has helped reduce their easy availability, but we are still seeing the most vulnerable groups, particularly, the homeless, prisoners and some young people, suffering the greatest harm from these substances.

The new RIDR system will help health staff better deal with the emerging challenges we are seeing. We want to encourage all frontline staff in settings such as A&E, sexual health clinics, prisons, drug and mental health services, to use the system, which over time will greatly increase our knowledge of these new substances and ultimately improve patient care.

Dr Sarah Elise Finlay, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said:

The information and advice provided by this new system will ultimately ease some of the burden and stress of managing those tricky overdose and poisoning cases in the early hours over the weekend in emergency settings.

Emergency services are facing significant pressure, which is why we’ve made the RIDR system as easy as possible for health staff. It’s great to know that, in future, help will be at hand for health staff dealing with the harms of these often unknown new drugs.

More information, including on how to register, is available on the RIDR website.

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HM Government • • •

Green MEP challenges government to eradicate money laundering following ‘laundromat’ revelations

21 March 2017

Green economist and MEP, Molly Scott Cato, has said that revelations of the Eastern European ‘laundromat’ operating through the City of London emphasize the importance of current revisions to the EU anti-money-laundering directive. She was responding to an investigation into fictitious companies registered in London that had processed millions of pounds worth of laundered money from operations run by Russian criminals with links to the Russian government [1]. She says the revelations show the need for national governments to assume their responsibility in eradicating existing money laundering routes. Molly Scott Cato said:

“The European Parliament has been clear in its proposal to change the rules governing financial transactions and crack down on such blatant money laundering. The proposals are currently being negotiated between the Parliament, the Commission and the Council and we must ensure that the Parliament’s proposal to create a public register of beneficial ownership in each member state is not watered down by national governments in the Council. Our proposal would force banks to make additional checks for suspicious clients and would have helped to prevent the ‘global laundromat’.

“We see again just how important binding rules are for all sectors. This kind of corrupt activity is only made possible by the existence of shell companies and phantom firms. The public register we are proposing would make it impossible for the clients of these companies to stay anonymous. They are the ultimate beneficial owner and their identity must be made public.”

The UK government has so far resisted public registers of trusts, arguing that individuals and companies deserve to have personal or confidential privacy. Dr Scott Cato concluded:

“The fact that the money laundering was focused on London should ring alarm bells in the context of threats from the Chancellor that Brexit may lead to a race to the bottom on tax standards. Arguments about privacy cannot be used to defend the laundering of money by criminals and we must ensure that the UK meets the highest EU standards following its exit from the bloc.”

Notes

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/20/british-banks-handled-vast-sums-of-laundered-russian-money?

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Green Party • •

Statement to Parliament: Additional airline security measures on some routes travelling to the UK

Today the government announced there will be changes to aviation security measures for selected inbound flights to the United Kingdom. The House will be aware that the United States government made a similar announcement earlier today regarding flights to the United States and we have been in close contact with them to fully understand their position.

In conjunction with our international partners and the aviation industry, the UK government keeps aviation security under constant review. The UK has some of the most robust aviation security measures in the world and at all times the safety and security of the public is our primary concern. We will not hesitate to put in place measures we believe are necessary, effective and proportionate.

Under the new arrangements, phones, laptops and tablets larger than:

  • length: 16.0cm
  • width: 9.3cm
  • depth: 1.5cm

will not be allowed in the cabin on selected flights to the UK from the countries affected. Most smart phones fall within these limits and will continue to be allowed on board. However, devices larger than these dimensions may not be carried in the cabin. This is in addition to other existing security arrangements. This will apply to inbound flights to the UK from the following locations:

  • Turkey
  • Lebanon
  • Egypt
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Jordan
  • Tunisia

Passengers are therefore advised to check online with their airline for further details.

We understand the frustration that these measures may cause and we are working with the aviation industry to minimise any impact. Our top priority will always be to maintain the safety of British nationals. These new measures apply to flights into the UK and we are not currently advising against flying to and from those countries. Those with imminent travel plans should contact their airline for further information. More information can be found on the Department for Transport website and the travelling public should consult the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s travel advice pages on GOV.UK.

I know the House will recognise that we face a constantly evolving threat from terrorism and must respond accordingly to ensure the protection of the public against those who would do us harm. The update we are making to our security measures is an important part of that process.

We remain open for business. People should continue to fly and comply with security procedures.

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HM Government