The Prime Minister today added his voice to Liam Byrne’s Hodge Hill action plan to get drugs off the district’s streets.

The Hodge Hill MP has campaigned for over a year to get the new strategy in place. Gordon Brown gave the plan his backing on the same day the Home Secretary launched the Government’s national drugs strategy.

Hodge Hill is the first area in Birmingham to draw up such plans.

Liam said:

“Gordon Brown has promised his 100 percent support in our battle to cut drug-related crime. And I have promised him that we will lead the battle against drugs in Hodge Hill. The £1 billion he is investing will really make a difference to local families.

Liam added:

“It’s taken a lot of hard-work to get to this stage in Hodge Hill but there’s even more to come. That’s why I will continue to fight to ensure these plans turn to action immediately and we can hit organised crime hard and halt the effect on our community.”

The Hodge Hill drugs plan includes proposals to:

• Reduce anti-social behaviour and crime related to substance misuse
• Raise awareness of young people and communities within Hodge Hill
• Increase the numbers of drug-users in treatment
• Support partnerships to tackle the availability of drugs and deal with criminals involved in their supply
• Provide appropriate resources and support to the action group made up of police, members of the community and representatives from charities and other organisations in the area

Liam’s hard-work continues with a focus on campaigning for a major counter-narcotics operation in Hodge Hill that will root out the organised crime that is forcing drugs into local neighbourhoods.

The Government’s new ten-year strategy for fighting illegal drug use will be backed by investment of £1 billion this year which will help to extend police powers to seize drug dealers’ assets, will place more responsibility on drug-users on benefits to get treatment and jobs and will strengthen and extend international agreements to intercept drugs before they reach the UK.