Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect on patients of the closure of the Diamorphine Assisted Treatment (DAT) clinic in Middlesbrough given that Project ADDER, in part, covers enhanced treatment and recovery services.

As set out in our ten-year Strategy, this Government is committed to a whole-system approach to tackling drugs which gives people with an addiction access to treatment to assist recovery. The safety and wellbeing of patients receiving treatment is our top priority. Middlesbrough Council has assured us that all patients transitioning from Diamorphine/Heroin Assisted Treatment, following the local authority’s decision to close this service, have received bespoke transition planning to maintain safety and appropriate care.

Through Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery) we have provided £4.58m in funding to Middlesborough between 2020-2023 to drive a one-system approach to tackling drugs. The Project ADDER approach brings together co-ordinated law enforcement activity, diversionary programmes and enhanced treatment and recovery provisions. Local funding decisions for the provision of treatment and recovery services are made by the local authority.