Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department collects on levels of (a) dependence on and (b) treatment for dependence on prescribed drugs.

The Department does not collect data on levels of dependence on and treatment for dependence on prescribed drugs. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a range of evidence-based guidance that includes recommendations for the National Health Service on the use of benzodiazepines, z drugs and anti-depressants based on an assessment of their benefits and longer-term health impacts. The guidance ‘Medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: safe prescribing and withdrawal management for adults’ which is available at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng215

The Department has no current plans to assess the publication’s effectiveness of ‘Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: Framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care’.