Prevention of Drug Deaths

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate my good and honourable friend, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), on securing this really important debate. Not for the first time, I find myself agreeing with what he said.

Drug deaths are at a record high. They are mainly from opioids, but deaths from cocaine have risen by almost a third. As the hon. Gentleman said, synthetic opioids such as Fentanyl and the nitazenes present an increasing and alarming threat, which has not been properly quantified. We have seen the growth in the number of deaths across the Atlantic, and I suspect the problem is much bigger here than we think.

There is no doubt that this is a public health crisis. Sadly, the north-east of England has the highest rate of drug deaths in England—three times higher than London. In the latest stats, released in October 2024, the north-east recorded 174 deaths per million, compared with an England average of 90. Too often, in the communities I represent, I have seen people turn to drugs because of deprivation and despair. Once addiction takes hold, it often leads to crime. It is no coincidence that drug deaths are highest in the areas of greatest deprivation. The data is clear: communities struggling with poverty and inequality are those hit hardest by addiction.

This is not a new problem—certainly, it is complex—but it is being exacerbated by disinvestment in harm reduction and drug treatment programmes. If we are serious about tackling this problem, we need to do something different. To some, a tougher crackdown may seem the obvious response, but we have more than 50 years of evidence showing that punitive drug policies do not work. The war on drugs has failed, not just in the UK but globally. We cannot simply arrest our way out of this crisis. That is why today I want to offer a different perspective, which moves beyond outdated, one-size-fits-all approaches.

Abstinence-based recovery is one path, but it is not the only one. If we truly want to reduce drug deaths and support recovery, we must reduce harm, reduce stigma and invest in treatment provision, with protected, ringfenced and sustained long-term funding. That funding could support solutions such as opioid substitution treatment, which saves an estimated 1,000 lives annually; medically supervised overdose prevention centres, like the Thistle safer consumption facility in Glasgow; heroin-assisted treatment; and increased availability of drug testing. Those measures are crucial in addressing the current crisis and saving lives.

As chair of the drugs, alcohol and justice all-party parliamentary group—supported by treatment providers Via, Waythrough and WithYou—I recently had the honour of chairing a meeting at which Professor Sir Michael Marmot, the leading expert in health inequalities, laid out the stark reality. He told us:

“Social injustice is killing on a grand scale.”

He made it clear that areas of the greatest deprivation suffered the deepest cuts during austerity, exacerbating addiction and its consequences. I encourage the Minister and all Ministers to consider how we as a nation can adopt the Marmot principles—principles that foster a fairer, more equitable society in which everyone is given the best possible start in life and we work to prevent “deaths of despair”.

I am conscious of the time, but I want to mention a dear friend of mine who is no longer with us—the late Ron Hogg, who was the police and crime commissioner in Durham. He was a true pioneer of drug policy reform. He was bold, compassionate and unafraid to challenge the status quo. He introduced heroin-assisted treatment and diversion schemes at a time when they were far from popular, but popularity was not his goal. He was seeking to reduce harm, save lives and ease the burden on our criminal justice system.

The evidence is clear: investment in treatment works; harm reduction saves lives; and tackling stigma is essential. We must stop seeing addiction solely as a criminal justice issue and instead treat it as a public health emergency.

[Dr Andrew Murrison (in the Chair)]

Short speeches mean that more colleagues get in.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)]

It is a pleasure and a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I pass my condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Christina McKelvie. I know she meant a lot to many of the people in this room.

Members on both sides will recognise the vital importance of the topic before us today in relation to our health and wellbeing as a nation. Let us be clear: deaths across the UK remain too high and in many cases, trends are moving in the wrong direction. Therefore, I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on bringing this important debate so we can talk about it further.

The Office for National Statistics notes that 5,448 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in 2023 across England and Wales—93 deaths per million people—but those headline figures tell only part of the story, of course, because behind each one is a tragedy for a family.

There is a significant gender imbalance in drug deaths. Of the nearly 5,500 deaths in England and Wales, 3,645 were men and 1,803 were women. There is also an imbalance among the English regions, as the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) said. The north-east of England remains the region with the highest rate of deaths related to drugs—London has a third of that rate. What steps are the Government taking to understand the epidemiology of drug use? How are they using that information to develop policies to reduce drug use and drug deaths?

Another key demographic trend relates to age. ONS survey data for 2024 shows that 16.5% of people aged 16 to 24 reported using at least one drug in the year to March 2024, and approximately 150,000 in the same age bracket considered themselves frequent drug users. Education will clearly be a vital element of any strategy designed to prevent people from becoming addicted to drugs and going on to cause harm to themselves and their community. Education needs to be clear about the damage that drug consumption does to individuals and society, through antisocial behaviour, environmental pollution and serious organised crime committed by gangs. What steps are the Government taking to ensure schools and colleges provide effective, targeted education to young people? What conversations has the Minister had with education Ministers about that? What are they doing to extend that education to those who are lost to the system—those who are not attending school and are therefore at greater risk of developing addictions and being exploited?

As has been mentioned, we also need to understand the changing patterns of use around particular drugs. Fashions change, and we must confront today’s challenges proactively, rather than yesterday’s ones reactively. Deaths involving cocaine rose by 30% in a single year in 2023, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl pose another emerging risk. We know that such substances have caused catastrophic harm in other countries, where they are already a fixture of the drug supply chain. What lessons have the Minister and the Government learned from other countries’ experiences with synthetic opioids? What steps are they taking to ensure the risk does not develop into the sort of crisis that we have seen in other countries?

Behind the statistics, there are people who use drugs and people in our communities who suffer the impacts. We need to look at both, and at the patterns of drug use. Inner-city areas suffering multiple forms of deprivation may face greater problems with substances such as heroin. As Members said, the Scottish Government recently opened the UK’s first drug consumption room in Glasgow, with the intention to address that kind of drug use. Long-term evidence about the effectiveness of such rooms is not clear at this stage, so I am pleased that the UK Government’s position is not to implement the strategy more widely. Treatment must be evidence-based, compassionate and effective, and it must not be done in a way that undermines the law, risking more people thinking that drugs are safe or not risky.

[Grahame Morris]

That is the status quo, but should we not be challenging that and looking at the evidence from, for example, prisons? One might assume that someone who is incarcerated due to crimes resulting from drug addiction would receive treatment in prison and rehabilitated, but in practice they are actually worse when they come out, and Buvidal, a long-lasting drug that could be very effective, is not readily available. Does the shadow Minister have any views on that?

[Dr Johnson]

I completely agree that we need evidence-based policy, and that, in whatever policy area we are looking at, we should challenge and probe policies to ensure we are doing things in the right way. Drugs should not be available in our prisons. People should receive treatment if they have gone into prison due to a drug-related offence, or if it is a non-drug-related offence but they are a drug user, but they should not have access to drugs. Prisons are controlled environments, so we should be able to prevent that. The Minister might be able to update us on what the Government will do to reduce the amount of drugs available in prisons.

We must also look at the effects on the local area around drug consumption rooms. What effect does allowing people to use drugs have on the numbers for violent gang crime, acquisitive crime and drug use? The evidence needs to be looked at closely.

There are other contexts in which drug use causes problems. Media coverage in recent years has highlighted the problem of so-called middle-class drug taking in family homes or at dinner parties. That is a different pattern of use, with different problems, and may risk setting precedents and norms, particularly for young children who may witness it, that might have damaging effects in years to come. Such drug use may be occurring in middle-class homes, but it still fuels organised crime and violence elsewhere. What are the Government doing to address the nuances in different habits and social contexts of drug use, and how do those figure in policy development?

We should also think about the prevalence of drug use in contexts such as workplaces. Some workplaces, such as the police, use intermittent drug testing. Police can use stop and search powers to investigate misuse, but there are other opportunities to interrupt harmful behaviour. What is the Government’s position on random drug testing in employment settings?

Regarding people in communities blighted by the effects of drug use, it is important to enforce the law as it is. In 2021, only 20% of drug-related offences recorded in Home Office data resulted in the user being charged or summonsed, and 34% of those offences resulted in an out of court or informal settlement. Some today have seemed to suggest that treatment and law enforcement are an either/or, but both are very important. Minimising the criminal offence could increase drug use, derisk the first trying of drugs among young people, embolden drug dealers and further harm neighbours who suffer drug-related harm. According to ONS data for 2024, 39.2% of respondents to the crime survey for England and Wales said it would be very or fairly easy to obtain illegal drugs within 24 hours. How do the Government intend to reduce the availability of illegal substances?

The last Government implemented a 10-year drug strategy following the publication of the independent review of drugs undertaken by Dame Carol Black in 2020, and they committed an additional £523 million up to 2025 to improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment services. This strategy set out aspirations to prevent nearly 1,000 deaths and deliver a phased expansion of treatment capacity, with at least 54,500 new high-quality treatment places for sufferers of addiction.

The present Government need to set out a coherent and viable plan for tackling the problems that the previous Government had begun to address. On 26 November last year, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Baroness Merron noted that the Government

“continue to fund research into wearable technology, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, all in a bid to support people with drug addictions.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 26 November 2024; Vol. 841, c. 594.]

That cost £12 million in the period from the election to 26 November. Will the Minister update the House on the evidence for the effectiveness of those measures? How do they intend to measure the value of the outcomes of that £12 million investment, and does she have any results on how effective they were?

Drug use continues to cause substantial harm to individuals and communities across the UK. The Government must commit to evidence-based interventions and plan the UK’s drugs strategy in a manner that limits the opportunities for individuals to distribute or consume drugs, reduces the likelihood that young people will develop an addiction, and prevents communities from suffering the impact of ineffective policing and sanctions.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I congratulate the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) on securing this debate. He raised a number of important points, and I agree that the rise in drug-related deaths across the UK is deeply concerning. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions.

We in the Department of Health and Social Care are aware of this issue, even on a personal level. Just last month, a homeless man known as Paddy died of a drug overdose just around the corner from 39 Victoria Street. Paddy was known to many civil servants and was noted for the gentle way he looked after his dog. His death, less than a 10-minute walk from this place, should remind us of the stark realities that many people face every day. It serves as a painful reminder that, while we in this Chamber discuss policies and politics, real lives are at stake on our doorstep.

Paddy’s story is not an isolated one; it is a tragic reflection of the systemic issues that continue to affect vulnerable people in our society. His death has brought home most vividly to us that behind every statistic is a human being who deserves dignity, care and support. My family, too, has been affected by drug-related death. As I rise to speak, my cousin Stephen, who we lost in this way, tragically young, is at the forefront of my mind.

There is no doubt that illicit drugs have a devastating impact on communities across the four nations of the United Kingdom. Drug misuse deaths have doubled since 2012. More than 3,300 people died in England alone in 2023, the highest rate since records began in 1993. Drug and alcohol deaths are the leading cause of premature mortality in those aged under 50.

These deaths are preventable, and this Government are committed, through our health mission, to ensuring that people live longer, healthier lives. We recognise that, as my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell), the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) and others, including the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller), pointed out, this is a public health issue. That is why I, as the Minister responsible for public health, am standing at the Dispatch Box today.

We are determined to make our communities safer, more secure and free from the violence caused by the illicit drugs market through our safer streets mission. Although the Opposition seem to have sent the shadow Health Minister, the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson), here to speak almost entirely about criminal justice issues, I will focus most of my comments on the public health areas and write to her afterwards with some of the details that she raised.

We know that many people struggling with drug addiction are already at the sharpest end of inequality and often have multiple and complex needs. The links between homelessness, deprivation and people who have spent time in prison with addiction are profound. Tackling the blight of illicit drugs is an issue that cuts across our four nations. It is crucial, now more than, ever that we work together and share learning to tackle the harms that drugs cause. My Department continues to work very closely with our colleagues in the devolved Governments, and I am grateful for that ongoing collaboration.

I also want to take this opportunity to put on record and add my voice to the condolences to the family and friends of Christina McKelvie. I look forward to meeting ministerial counterparts in the devolved Governments later this year to discuss how we can continue to work together to reduce drug-related deaths.

On the harms caused by drugs, the hon. Members for Mid Dunbartonshire and for Brighton Pavilion (Siân Berry) raised some issues about the Home Office and public health. This is a mission-led Government and, although I stand here as a Public Health Minister, we will continue to work closely with the Home Office and the Department for Education—indeed, across Government —on the drugs agenda. I met my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention just last week to discuss this complex issue. Although we have no plans to decriminalise drug possession—prohibiting drug possession helps to reduce the availability of drugs and sends a clear signal that using drugs is not normal—we support programmes that divert drug users away from the criminal justice system and into treatment.

If we are really to shift the dial on drug-related deaths, we must ensure that anyone with a drug problem, wherever they are, can access the help and support they need. That means providing evidence-based, high-quality treatment. Those dedicated drug treatment services reduce harm and provide a path to recovery. My Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local treatment services, which faced significant cutbacks during a decade of disinvestment, and the local authority funding allocations for 2025-26 will be announced imminently. I recognise the contributions made by my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) about the importance of community-based treatment.

[Grahame Morris]

I am very pleased with the Minister’s response. I appreciate that she has an awful lot on her plate, with cancer services and piloting a Bill through the House of Commons yesterday, but, given that we are looking at evaluating the evidence on what works best, will she agree to meet me and a small group of representatives from the treatment providers, so that they can explain in person what they think is the most effective way to tackle this issue?

[Ashley Dalton]

I would be delighted to do so. As my hon. Friend knows, consultation and engagement are at my very core. I would be happy to meet him and others.

My Department has invested an additional £267 million in 2024-25 to improve the capacity and quality of drug and alcohol treatment services, alongside £105 million made available by the DHSC, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery specifically for people who are sleeping rough, and housing and employment support. The Government have also awarded £12 million to projects across the UK that are researching innovative technology to support people with addictions and to prevent drug-related deaths.

As of January this year, there were 43,500 more people in drug and alcohol treatment, including more than 4,500 children and young people, and 12,500 more people in long-term recovery. There are around 340,000 people in structured treatment in England, which I am pleased to say is the highest number on record.

The hon. Members for Mid Dunbartonshire and for Brighton Pavilion, and my hon. Friends the Members for Easington (Grahame Morris), for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) and for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Lillian Jones), all referred to drug consumption rooms. This Government recognise the exercised prosecutorial independence of the Lord Advocate of Scotland in respect of the pilot drug consumption room known as The Thistle in Scotland. Along with the Home Office, we will consider any evidence that emerges from the evaluation of that pilot and report on it in due course.

My hon. Friend the Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) talked about safe inhalation pipes; I will write to her with further information on them in due course, because there is an academic research study under way to test their effectiveness. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities is part of the advisory group and is waiting to see the findings.

Mental health issues and trauma often lie at the heart of substance use issues. People with co-occurring mental health and substance use problems find it hard to engage with support, and services too often fail to meet their needs. That must change. We are committed to ensuring cohesion between mental health services and substance use services, which will mean that people no longer fall through the gaps of treatment. Jointly with NHS England, my Department has developed a mental health action plan to tackle this issue, which I hope will be published soon.

My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) talked about naloxone, which other hon. Members also mentioned. I know that tackling drug-related deaths is a key priority for all four nations, and I am proud that together we have legislated to widen access to naloxone, the lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of an opiate overdose. We know that over half of the people struggling with opiate addiction are not engaged in treatment at all, which means that significant numbers of an incredibly vulnerable population are at increased risk of overdosing and dying. The UK-wide naloxone legislation that came into force in December 2024 enables more services and professionals to supply the medication, which in turn makes it easier to access for people at risk and their loved ones. We are also working to set up a registration service in England that will further expand access to naloxone.

We are highly alert to the growing threat posed by synthetic opioids, which were raised by many hon. Members, including my hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) and for Easington. Synthetic opioids such as nitazenes and fentanyl are often more potent and deadly, but naloxone is an effective medicine for synthetic opioid overdose. The Government are undertaking a range of actions to prevent the rise of these dangerous drugs and working with colleagues across the devolved Governments, including on increased surveillance and enforcement.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams) for raising the important issue of children affected by parental drug use. Our mission-based approach will ensure that every child has the best start in life and that we create the healthiest generation of children ever, which includes supporting the children of parents with drug problems and those suffering adverse childhood experiences.

My Department is leading work to improve the health system’s ability to respond to and support the needs of those people who have drug addiction and multiple and complex physical health needs. Intervening earlier and treating co-occurring physical health conditions will reduce drug-related deaths and improve recovery outcomes.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has an action plan in place to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, and I was pleased to announce that on 1 May this year my Department will host a national event on preventing drug and alcohol-related deaths, where we will work with the sector to agree priorities.

I again thank the hon. Member for Strangford for securing this debate. I can assure everyone that this Government are committed to reducing the harms illicit drugs pose to both individuals and across wider society. These deaths are avoidable, and I am confident that the Government’s mission-led approach will put us in a stronger position to tackle this complex issue. Harm reduction and strong public health approaches are at the heart of this Government’s work to prevent drug related deaths.