Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of reports that drug-related deaths are increasing in the areas of England where cuts to drug treatment budgets have been among the greatest, whether they intend to establish a national inquiry and action plan to tackle this issue in order to reduce the number of deaths.

Public Health England (PHE) led an inquiry last year into the rises in drug-related deaths. The inquiry report, Understanding and preventing drug-related deaths: The report of a national expert working group to investigate drug-related death in England, was published on 9 September 2016 and a copy is attached.

The Government is investing over £16 billion over the current five-year spending review period for local authorities (LAs) to spend on public health. LAs are responsible for making decisions on how to spend their local allocation, but the public health grant conditions make it clear that they must have regard for the need to improve the take up of and outcomes from their drug and alcohol misuse treatment services. Whilst there is considerable variation across the country, with some regions showing large increases in recent years, PHE will continue to support LAs in delivering tailored, accessible and effective services where people stand the best chance of recovery.