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<p>‘Cuckooing’ is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution
model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing
up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, taking
action against county lines holders and safeguarding children and vulnerable people.</p><p>The
targeted stakeholder engagement exercise, announced as part of the Government’s Anti-Social
Behaviour Action Plan in March 2023, was conducted over the spring/summer of this
year. Officials engaged on the potential merits and scope of a new offence to tackle
cuckooing with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local
authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field which included
academics and NGOs, and the Devolved Governments.</p><p>The results of the engagement
exercise revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing
activity and officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to
both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent
practice.</p>
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