Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of young people dependent on (a) illicit drugs and (b) alcohol.

The Department and Public Health England (PHE) are working with other Government departments to help prevent young people, including those from deprived backgrounds, from developing alcohol and drug problems. This includes supporting investment in programmes which have a positive impact on young people, giving them the confidence, resilience and risk management skills to resist drug use. Examples of this include:

- funding Mentor UK’s Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Information Service which provides practical advice and tools based on the best international evidence, including briefing sheets for teachers; and

- running Rise Above, an online resilience building resource, aimed at 11- to 16-year-olds, which provides resources to help young people develop skills to make positive choices for their health, including avoiding drug use.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing their local need for alcohol and drug treatment and commissioning a range of accessible services to meet these needs.

PHE works with local authorities to support them in this vital work, by providing them with data, guidance and other bespoke support to help them tackle health inequalities.