The News Movement stepped up their campaign to #BringBackDrugTesting at UK festivals with a meeting at Portcullis House on Monday 17th, organised with Sam Tarry MP and the Night Time Industries Association.
The campaign is calling on the Home Office to reverse its decision to enforce a complicated licensing system that threatens to derail life-saving drugs testing.
The UK festival season is now half-way through, and so festival organisers are worried about the timings of these new rules.
Previously, the government had backed ‘back-of-house’ testing saying it provided ‘useful intelligence…to implement hard reduction measures’. Which is why the decision has caused so much concern.
MPs including Crispin Blunt, Ben Bradshaw, Kate Osborne and Flick Drummond joined the meeting - offering their support to the campaign.
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Crispin Blunt MP for Reigate said:
“A @ukhomeoffice revision in policy is now making it more difficult to carry this out despite evidence it saves lives. A way back to evidence-based policy must be urgently found to stop people dying.”
The News Movement wrote to the Home Office on Thursday 6th July asking the following questions:
Why were charities and events not given advanced warning of the Home Office’s insistence on awarding licences in order to conduct back of house drug testing in the presence of police officers?
What was the reason for this insistence?
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Will the Home Office consider waiving the fee for applications for these licences?
Will the Home Office expedite the applications?
Will the Home Office commission the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review this policy?
The Home Office are yet to reply to these questions - but they have previously said:
“Our position hasn’t changed. Drug testing providers must have a licence to test for controlled drugs including at festivals. We have consistently made this condition clear, and law enforcement have always had a responsibility to upload his legal requirement. We have not received any applications for drug testing at the major festivals this summer. We continue to keep an open dialogue with any potential applicants.”