Drugs fund ‘is being used to bolster States departments’

The spending list released by the Treasury has led to claims that the Drug Trafficking Confiscation Fund (DTCF) is being used as a back-door funding route to bolster departmental budgets. Other items it has funded are Customs office and IT equipment and driver training for officers. The list also shows that in the 11 years since it was established, almost all of the £2.34 million spent has gone to States departments, even though it is theoretically available to voluntary organisations who are helping addicts and their families. Only one direct application from the voluntary sector – £1,158 for the Jersey Addiction Group in 1999 – appears on the approved list. Grouville Constable Dan Murphy, who is a trustee of Silkworth Lodge, the residential unit run by the Jersey Addiction Group, says that it is time for an overhaul of how the money is allocated.