Schools: Substance Abuse Education

Baroness King of Bow Excerpts

Monday 2nd February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Nash]

I mentioned the troubled families programme. Families affected by substance misuse are at the heart of our drugs strategy, which commits to support those with the most complex needs. I think it is true that the troubled families programme has been extremely successful.

[Baroness King of Bow (Lab)]

In 2013, the Office for National Statistics records a sharp increase of 21% in the number of deaths from drug misuse in England. Among men, deaths from heroin and morphine are up a staggering 32% on the previous year. Given the dangers of substance abuse and that those dangers are clearly growing according to the Government’s own statistics, does the Minister think that the Government should act with more urgency to find programmes that actually work?

[Lord Nash]

Among 11 to 15 year-olds drug use has continued to fall from a peak in 2013. It was down again last year. We are very concerned about “legal highs”, or new psychoactive substances, from which there have been a number of deaths. That is specifically why we have introduced the ADEPIS programme, which has produced a range of resources to support teachers when teaching about legal highs. We have already banned more than 500 new drugs and created the forensic early warning system.