Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to integrate synthetic opioid awareness into local authorities’ Drug Strategies since 5 July 2025; and how much of the 2025/26 targeted drug, alcohol treatment and recovery grant funding for local authorities in England, announced on 31 March 2025 he has allocated to public education on the (a) risks of synthetic opioids and (b) how to respond when witnessing an opioid overdose.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued planning guidance for local areas to help them respond to incidents caused by potent synthetic opioids. The guidance enables local partners to rapidly understand the scale of the synthetic opioid threat and assess the risk, communicate the threat, and take actions to mitigate it.

The Combating Drugs Partnerships (CDP) are vital in leading the local response to synthetic opioids and developing preparedness plans to manage the risk in their area, utilising the local guidance issued by the Department. In addition to a tabletop exercise conducted with a range of relevant local partners, a sample of CDP preparedness plans have been analysed by the Government, and the Home Office has published a report which includes a series of recommendations to help local areas maintain their emergency preparation and response.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need and it is for local authorities to decide on the amount of funding to dedicate to public education on the risks of synthetic opioids and how to respond to an opioid overdose. DHSC has made clear that local authorities can allocate funding to support campaigns and events to improve understanding and reduce harm. In addition, in response to increasing use and the serious harms associated with synthetic opioids, the Department is planning a public health awareness campaign which will launch in the coming months. This campaign will raise awareness of new patterns of drug use and their associated risks.

To ensure that vulnerable at-risk groups, including the homeless and those who are socially isolated, are aware of the dangers these drugs pose, regular drug alerts and communications are circulated by DHSC to commissioners and providers of drug treatment services, and there is ongoing engagement with local drug systems across England that are responsible for ensuring relevant professionals within their areas are adequately informed. It is their responsibility to circulate information with wider local stakeholders, such as the homelessness sector.

DHSC also includes advice on how to respond when witnessing an opioid overdose in its naloxone guidance and on the Government’s drugs information website, Talk to FRANK.