Professor Alex Stevens and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

That this House notes with concern the recent resignation of Professor Alex Stevens from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD); commends his invaluable contribution to the ACMD as Chair of its Working Group on Custody-Community Transitions; notes with regret that his decision was prompted by Government interventions compromising the independence and integrity of the ACMD; reaffirms that high-quality advice in the complex field of drugs and their misuse is of the utmost importance to an evidence-based approach to policy making; recognises that, at this time of record drug-related deaths, independent expertise is needed more than ever before; and calls on the Government to demonstrate that it values the work and independent advice of the ACMD by providing assurance that disagreement with Government policies should never again preclude suitably qualified applicants from appointment to the ACMD.