Asked by: Baroness Brown of Silvertown (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the level of consistency in access to naloxone for residents with an opioid dependency within Approved Premises throughout England and Wales.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Naloxone is a drug that can reverse the effects and overdose of opioids, such as heroin, methadone, opium, codeine, morphine and buprenorphine and can be administered by health care professionals and appropriately trained staff. Medical professionals have been using naloxone in emergencies for many years and HM Prison and Probation Service ensures staff are aware of its appropriate use wherever necessary.
The assessment and suitability of naloxone is a matter for the local drug agency. Approved Premises (AP) residents are permitted to use naloxone when prescribed to them by substance misuse services. In some prisons it is issued at the point of release to known opioid substance misusers, again by substance misuse services. Emergency Service responders arriving at an AP will also administer naloxone if considered appropriate. The National Probation Service (NPS) is currently reviewing implementation of the administration of naloxone by AP staff.
HMPPS Wales are exploring with the Welsh Government and other devolved services the procurement of naloxone and the opportunities to train staff in Approved Premises in the nasal administration of naloxone. This is following Prison and Probation Ombudsman recommendations regarding the life saving benefits afforded by naloxone.
The Government takes the mental health and wellbeing of offenders very seriously and we recognise that anxieties during the Covid-19 pandemic may exacerbate mental health needs and increase the risk of self-harm among offenders. We are continuing to work to mitigate this as far as possible.
Within APs, we have continued our programme of work to support residents and staff to reduce risk of suicide and self- harm, including updated guidance and the identification of high-risk factors relating to quarantine and self-isolation. This approach is integrated into our exceptional delivery model and includes reviewed and updated safety and support planning for residents and updated distraction resource packs in every AP.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of naloxone for preventing death caused by heroin overdose.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No assessment has been made on the adequacy of the availability of naloxone for preventing death caused by heroin overdose.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs and commissioning drug prevention, treatment and harm reduction services to meet these needs. This includes making sure they have sufficient coverage of naloxone to prevent drug-related deaths.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the trends in the level of heroin-related deaths in (a) the UK and (b) Bristol.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Spending on health care, including drug treatment services is a devolved matter. In England, local authorities are responsible for the commissioning and uptake of drug treatment services. They are funded to do so through the public health grant. In 2019-20, £3.1 billion has been provided for public health services, including drug treatment.
Any death related to drug use is an avoidable tragedy. Heroin-related deaths are rising across the United Kingdom, including in Bristol. This increase is linked to an ageing group of older heroin users with multiple and complex needs and in increasingly poor health. Half of opiate-related deaths occur among those who have never – or have not for several years – been in drug treatment.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what level of funding his Department has made available for drug addiction treatment in (a) the UK (b) Bristol.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Spending on health care, including drug treatment services is a devolved matter. In England, local authorities are responsible for the commissioning and uptake of drug treatment services. They are funded to do so through the public health grant. In 2019-20, £3.1 billion has been provided for public health services, including drug treatment.
Any death related to drug use is an avoidable tragedy. Heroin-related deaths are rising across the United Kingdom, including in Bristol. This increase is linked to an ageing group of older heroin users with multiple and complex needs and in increasingly poor health. Half of opiate-related deaths occur among those who have never – or have not for several years – been in drug treatment.
Asked by: Lord Rennard (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 28 October (HL Deb, col 772), what is the level of provision in different regions of England of heroin-assisted treatment involving addicts injecting safely.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Information on the level of provision of heroin assisted treatment is not centrally collected.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) number of deaths related to opioid usage and (b) rates of opioid addiction.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Office for National Statistics reported that there were 2,208 drug poisonings deaths in England and Wales registered in 2018 that had an opiate mentioned on the death certificate. The data can be viewed at the following link:
Information about the prevalence of opiate (and crack cocaine) use in England is produced by Liverpool John Moores University. The latest estimated number of people who use illicit opiates (mainly heroin) aged 15-64 in England in 2016-17 was 261,294. The report can be viewed at the following link:
Asked by: Lord Hogan-Howe (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they measure the performance and success of the National Crime Agency in limiting the import and supply of controlled substances such as cocaine and heroin.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
In line with the National Serious Organised Crime Performance Framework, disruption data allows for the assessment of varied activities including traditional law enforcement Pursue responses and the broader spectrum of Prevent, Protect and Prepare activities, carried out by a range of agencies and government departments.
Therefore, across SOC threats (including Drugs), the NCA assesses its disruptions by the extent to which an activity is judged to have led to a reduction in the threat from an individual, group, or vulnerability linked to serious and organised crime. This approach helps to calibrate the NCA’s effort towards the highest harm serious and organised criminals and networks.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has conducted an impact assessment of the potential effect of the planned cessation of ring-fencing of the Public Health Grant in 2020 on the (a) quality of drug treatment and (b) rate of drug-related deaths.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Government is concerned by the number of drug-related deaths, which is largely caused by an ageing cohort of heroin users. We are supporting local areas to develop a more joined up approach to commissioning and delivering the range of services that are essential to supporting recovery and preventing drug-related deaths. In October, the Home Office announced that there would be a major independent review of drug misuse. This will look at a wide range of issues, including the system of support and enforcement around drug abuse, to better inform our thinking about what more can be done to tackle drug harms including deaths. The review will inform our thinking about what more can be done to mitigate the harm caused through drug use.
Local authorities will receive £3.1 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health, including drug addiction. We are investing over £16 billion in local authority public health services over the five years of the 2015 Spending Review until 2020/21. Public health funding for 2020 onwards, including for addiction services, will be considered carefully in the next Spending Review, in the light of the available evidence.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of the Public Health Grant in (a) the current Spending Review Period and (b) the next Spending Review on the (i) level of quality of drug treatment services and (ii) number of drug-related deaths.
Answered by Seema Kennedy
The Government is concerned by the number of drug-related deaths, which is largely caused by an ageing cohort of heroin users. We are supporting local areas to develop a more joined up approach to commissioning and delivering the range of services that are essential to supporting recovery and preventing drug-related deaths. In October, the Home Office announced that there would be a major independent review of drug misuse. This will look at a wide range of issues, including the system of support and enforcement around drug abuse, to better inform our thinking about what more can be done to tackle drug harms including deaths. The review will inform our thinking about what more can be done to mitigate the harm caused through drug use.
Local authorities will receive £3.1 billion in 2019/20, ring-fenced exclusively for use on public health, including drug addiction. We are investing over £16 billion in local authority public health services over the five years of the 2015 Spending Review until 2020/21. Public health funding for 2020 onwards, including for addiction services, will be considered carefully in the next Spending Review, in the light of the available evidence.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been charged with the distribution of heroin in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nick Hurd
The Home Office collects and holds data on crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, and outcomes recorded for these crimes. The table below shows the number of charge/summons outcomes recorded for offences of the supply or intent to supply of heroin.
Table 1: Number of charged/summonsed outcomes recorded for offences involving supply or intent to supply with heroin; England & Wales | |||
Calendar Year | Supply | Possession with intent to supply | Total |
2014 | 884 | 1,263 | 2,147 |
2015 | 1,071 | 1,676 | 2,747 |
2016 | 873 | 1,646 | 2,519 |
2017 | 1,070 | 1,671 | 2,741 |
2018 | 714 | 1,307 | 2,021 |
Total | 4,612 | 7,563 | 12,175 |
Source: Home Office Data Hub | |||