Found: The Home Office keeps disorder trends and drugs misuse at football matches under review with policing

Found: /system/uploads/attachment_data/file/111 3377/stop-search-data-tables-summary-mar22.ods 14 ONS, Drugs

Found: drugs, the JCDU told us it was aware there are specific barriers faced by women seeking treatment for drugs

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the number of illegal drug related deaths in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman Parliamentary Question of 21st March is attached.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits introducing drug contamination testing facilities in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of drug checking facilities, but it recognises the potential harm reduction benefits of them.

The Government facilitates drug checking facilities provided that the possession and supply of controlled drugs are licensed by the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit or, exceptionally, relevant exemptions under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 may apply.

Ministers are clear that drug checking services must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly, in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help local authorities tackle substance misuse.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, local authorities are receiving £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. This funding is in addition to the Public Health Grant.

The Department is actively supporting local authorities to develop and implement their local plans for drug and alcohol treatment and are monitoring outcomes through the national outcomes framework. This support includes the Commissioning Quality Standard, published in August 2022, which provides guidance for commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services. The Department also published guidance on Recovery support services and lived experience initiatives to support regions to develop and improve recovery-orientated systems of care, to help people to achieve and sustain recovery. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/recovery-support-services-and-lived-experience-initiatives

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of harm reduction units for the use of drug taking in a safe environment.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The term ‘harm reduction units for the use of drug taking in a safe environment’ refers to what are often more commonly known as Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs).

The Government does not support DCRs. We have been clear that we have concerns about the potential for these facilities to appear to condone drug use and to encourage the continued illicit supply of drugs. They will not be introduced in England and Wales. While we remain open to considering any new evidence, the evidence available to date has informed the current policy position.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the effectiveness of overdose prevention centres in reducing death and other harms caused by drug use to individuals and society; and why they do not support pilot overdose prevention centres.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

The Government does not support drug consumption rooms. We have been clear that we have concerns about the potential for these facilities to appear to condone drug use and to encourage the continued illicit supply of drugs. They will not be introduced in England and Wales.

We are aware of previous international studies of DCRs, sometimes referred to as overdose prevention centres, although there is usually little or no focus on how far DCRs reduce illicit drug use by those using DCRs, or whether they result in reductions in overall drug use. Methodological and geographical differences as well as the small number of cities where DCRs operate makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions at this stage. In addition, the impact of DCRs in isolation is hard to measure as a range of other support and interventions such as needle and syringe exchange programmes are often provided within a DCR.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has set targets for the (a) reduction of (i) drug and (ii) alcohol use and (b) number of people receiving treatment for related addictions.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government published a 10-year drug strategy in December 2021 which sets out three core priorities: cutting off drug supply, creating a world class treatment and recovery system, and achieving a generational shift in demand for drugs. The strategy aims to reduce crime, drug related deaths, harm, and overall drug use and is backed by significant new investment. The Government has invested an additional £780 million in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, of which £532 million is dedicated to rebuilding local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The drug strategy includes a specific target of getting 54,500 more people in drug and alcohol treatment between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Success is being measured against a system of local and national outcomes frameworks. More information on the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives

Delivery of the drugs strategy is a cross-government priority; the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU) is a cross-Government team, based in the Home Office, that was set up to coordinate the drug strategy delivery across all relevant Government departments. The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the JCDU to work to achieve the aims of the drug strategy.

No specific targets have been set for the reduction of alcohol use in England; however, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines recommends that adults consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. According to the 2021 Health Survey for England, around 80% of adults in England drink within these guidelines. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government is investing £27 million to establish alcohol care teams in the 25% of acute hospitals in England with the greatest need. These specialist teams identify alcohol dependent patients admitted to hospital for any reason, start them on specialist treatment as inpatients, and facilitate them into community-based substance misuse treatment upon discharge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve coordination on reducing drug and alcohol harms.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government published a 10-year drug strategy in December 2021 which sets out three core priorities: cutting off drug supply, creating a world class treatment and recovery system, and achieving a generational shift in demand for drugs. The strategy aims to reduce crime, drug related deaths, harm, and overall drug use and is backed by significant new investment. The Government has invested an additional £780 million in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, of which £532 million is dedicated to rebuilding local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The drug strategy includes a specific target of getting 54,500 more people in drug and alcohol treatment between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Success is being measured against a system of local and national outcomes frameworks. More information on the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives

Delivery of the drugs strategy is a cross-government priority; the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU) is a cross-Government team, based in the Home Office, that was set up to coordinate the drug strategy delivery across all relevant Government departments. The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the JCDU to work to achieve the aims of the drug strategy.

No specific targets have been set for the reduction of alcohol use in England; however, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines recommends that adults consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. According to the 2021 Health Survey for England, around 80% of adults in England drink within these guidelines. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government is investing £27 million to establish alcohol care teams in the 25% of acute hospitals in England with the greatest need. These specialist teams identify alcohol dependent patients admitted to hospital for any reason, start them on specialist treatment as inpatients, and facilitate them into community-based substance misuse treatment upon discharge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support people with (a) drug and (b) alcohol addictions.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government published a 10-year drug strategy in December 2021 which sets out three core priorities: cutting off drug supply, creating a world class treatment and recovery system, and achieving a generational shift in demand for drugs. The strategy aims to reduce crime, drug related deaths, harm, and overall drug use and is backed by significant new investment. The Government has invested an additional £780 million in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services, of which £532 million is dedicated to rebuilding local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The drug strategy includes a specific target of getting 54,500 more people in drug and alcohol treatment between 2022/23 and 2024/25. Success is being measured against a system of local and national outcomes frameworks. More information on the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives/from-harm-to-hope-a-10-year-drugs-plan-to-cut-crime-and-save-lives

Delivery of the drugs strategy is a cross-government priority; the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU) is a cross-Government team, based in the Home Office, that was set up to coordinate the drug strategy delivery across all relevant Government departments. The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the JCDU to work to achieve the aims of the drug strategy.

No specific targets have been set for the reduction of alcohol use in England; however, the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines recommends that adults consume no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. According to the 2021 Health Survey for England, around 80% of adults in England drink within these guidelines. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government is investing £27 million to establish alcohol care teams in the 25% of acute hospitals in England with the greatest need. These specialist teams identify alcohol dependent patients admitted to hospital for any reason, start them on specialist treatment as inpatients, and facilitate them into community-based substance misuse treatment upon discharge.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of personal, social, health and economic education in reducing the risk of drug and alcohol use; and what steps she is taking to improve that effectiveness.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department for Education is currently evaluating the delivery of the compulsory relationships, sex and health education curriculum. This includes drug and alcohol education, as well as a focus on mental wellbeing and other factors which can contribute to reducing the risk of drug and alcohol use. The findings and recommendations will inform progress towards our drug strategy commitment that all children and young people are provided with effective high-quality education to prevent future drug and alcohol use.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has reviewed the policies of other countries as part of policy development for (a) drug and (b) alcohol strategies.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

International research, data and the experience of other countries’ drug treatment systems were reviewed in the development of Public Health England’s (PHE’s) Drug misuse treatment in England: evidence review of outcomes, published in 2017, which helped inform the Government’s 2021 drug strategy. The review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-treatment-in-england-evidence-review-of-outcomes

While there are no current plans for a new specific alcohol strategy, the Department maintains an interest in the effectiveness of policies implemented by other countries to reduce alcohol harms. The 2016 PHE publication, The public health burden of alcohol: evidence review, reviewed effective policies for reducing alcohol harms in OECD countries. The review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-public-health-burden-of-alcohol-evidence-review

Officials in the Department frequently engage with international colleagues and those in the devolved administrations to exchange ideas, experience and evidence when developing new policies.

Found: This also has to be done even when , or despite , that individual suffering from alcohol or drugs misuse

Found: ensure people with alcoh ol use disorder continue to receive the same quality of care as those with drugs

Found: areas, including but not limited to, child and adolescent mental health, child poverty, alcohol and drugs

Found: Risk 5 – relating to drug and alcohol deaths – there is substantial evidence showing that deaths from drugs