Illegal drug use is in decline in England and Wales with cannabis use at its lowest level for a decade, according to a report.

Despite the fall in use of cannabis, the Government said it was determined to press ahead with reclassifying the drug from Class C to Class B in January.

The Home Office said the decision to reclassify was taken on the basis of the potential of cannabis to cause harm not on the prevalence of its use.

“We have to ensure that the classification of cannabis reflects the alarming fact that skunk, the highest potency herbal cannabis, now dominates the cannabis market, and we must respond robustly to reverse the massive growth in the commercial cultivation of cannabis in the United Kingdom in the last few years," the spokesman said.

"Reclassifying cannabis will help to drive enforcement priorities to shut the 'cannabis farms' down."

Figures from the British Crime Survey for 2007/8 show that 9.3 per cent of those aged 16-59, about 3m people, used an illegal drug in the last year.

That was down from 10 per cent the previous year and is the lowest level recorded since the survey began carrying drug use figures in 1996.

The Home Office said the fall was mainly a result of reductions in the use of cannabis. An estimated 7.4 per cent of adults 16-59, about 2.4m people, said they had used cannabis in the last year.

That was down from 10.9 per cent in 2002/3, the year before cannabis was downgraded from a Class B to a Class C drug.

The use of Class A drugs, including cocaine and heroin, also fell slightly last year with 3 per cent of adults or 949,000 people saying they had used them in the previous year.

Yesterday’s figures do not reflect the full extent of drug use as the BCS does not interview youngsters under 16 and as a household survey it misses groups with a potentially high rate of drug use: the homeless, students living in halls of residence and prisoners.

Separate figures published yesterday showed a 15 per cent increase in drug seizures in 2006. There were 186,028 drug seizures, a level not seen since 1973.

But the seizure record was mainly a result of a 44 per cent rise in the confiscation of small amounts of herbal cannabis after the introduction of police warnings for personal possession of the drug in 2004.

The data on drugs was accompanied by a released on alcohol licensing figures showing that the number of licensed premises continued to increase after the reform of licensing laws introduced extended opening hours.

There was a 6 per cent increase to 195,500 in the number of premises licensed to sell alcohol which can range from public houses to community centres.

Official figures show the number of "24-hour" alcohol licences rose to 6,700 in March this year, from 5,900 in March 2007.

Of the 24-hour licences, the vast majority — 4,100 — are for hotel bars; a further 1,300 are supermarkets and stores.

The number of pubs, bars and nightclubs with round-the-clock licences rose from 600 to 700.

Gerry Sutcliffe, the licensing minister, said: “ The small rise in the number of 24-hour licences shows people are taking advantage of the flexibility on offer … the predicted explosion in 24-hour drinking has failed to materialise.”

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