Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's drug strategy on the number of people who are in (a) drug and (b) alcohol treatment.

By January 2024 there were an additional 9,907 adults in treatment for drugs and 9,908 adults in treatment of alcohol problems, when compared to the start of the drugs strategy in March 2022. Additionally, over the same period, there were an extra 2,650 children and young people receiving specialist support for drug and alcohol problems.

The number of prison leavers referred to community-based drug and alcohol services engaging in treatment within three weeks of release has risen to a high of 52% in January 2024, up from 36% in March 2022. Additionally, in 2023/24 we engaged over 10,000 people who sleep rough, or who are at risk of sleeping rough, in support for rough sleeping drug and alcohol treatment teams, with over 9,000 people supported by these specialist teams while in treatment.