Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding available for the provision of harm reduction programmes by alcohol and drug services.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning services to prevent, mitigate and treat alcohol and drug related health harm, based upon local need. The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment services to ensure those in need can access high quality help and support. Funding for treatment services is provided through the public health grant.
In addition, local authorities have a further £267 million from the Department this year to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made jointly available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. This additional investment is improving the quality and capacity of alcohol and drug treatment services in England. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced updates to the fiscal framework and launched the next Spending Review, which will settle 2025-26 budgets in October 2024 and conclude the multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025.
Asked by: Deirdre Costigan (Labour - Ealing Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the the potential merits of creating a national strategy to reduce alcohol harm.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how best to reduce alcohol-related harms.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what advice he has received from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities on the harm to health of drinking in public houses compared to (a) private residences and (b) other settings; and whether he plans to introduce an alcohol harm reduction strategy.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under our Health Mission, the Government is committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people in living longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how to best reduce alcohol related harms.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Institute of Alcohol Studies' article entitled £27.4 billion cost of alcohol harm in England every year, published on 20 May 2024.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the recent alcohol duty reforms, all alcoholic products are now taxed by strength. This reflects public health priorities and helps to address potentially harmful products like ‘white’ ciders and strong fortified wines, which are often cited by health groups as being abused.
The Chancellor has confirmed that she will set out plans for tax – as well as spending and borrowing – in the usual way at the Budget on 30 October.
HM Treasury welcomes representations as part of this policy making process and Budget submissions will be received through the online portal until 10 September.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the aim of the Bottle Stop campaign to ensure that all bottles in clubs and bars are plastic instead of glass.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol in licensed premises across England and Wales and devolves decision-making to local licensing authorities.
The Government publishes guidance for licensing authorities to assist them in carrying out their functions under the Act in line with the four licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; the prevention of public nuisance, upholding public safety, and the protection of children from harm.
This guidance specifically states that a number of matters should be considered by a licensing authority in relation to public safety, which may include requiring, as part of a premises licence, the use of plastic containers and preventing customer access to glass bottles.
We keep under review licensing of alcohol premises.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional legal powers of local authorities to assess the suitability of applications by premises for the sale of alcohol.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale and supply of alcohol in licensed premises across England and Wales and devolves decision-making to local licensing authorities.
The Act sets out four statutory licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.
Licensing committees can utilise a number of discretionary powers set out in the Licensing Act should they decide it is appropriate to do so – for example by introducing a cumulative impact assessment. Responsible authorities as set out in the Act can submit representations to the licensing committee to help inform decision making and flag concerns. Local residents can submit representations on individual licensing applications.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of minimum pricing for alcohol.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Any new plans to reduce alcohol harm will be announced in Parliament in the normal way. There are no such plans at present.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the number of illicit drug deaths.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is actively working to reduce the number of drug-related deaths, investing over £300 million into drug and alcohol treatment this year, which will help prevent drug-related harm and save lives. This includes funding over 50,000 additional treatment places, which we know protects against drug deaths.
We are working to expand access to naloxone, a life-saving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. The Government laid legislation on 29 July 2024, which, subject to passage through Parliament, will enable more services and organisations to provide take-home supplies of naloxone without a prescription. These changes will mean naloxone can be given to a family member or friend of a person who is known to be using opiates, and to professionals working with people who use these drugs, to save lives in the event of an overdose.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has an action plan to prevent a greater number of drug and alcohol-related deaths. The plan has five priorities around improving: treatment practice; local systems; toxicology and surveillance; stigma; and poly-drug and alcohol use. Some specific elements include improving the integration of treatment services with mental and physical healthcare, expanded specialist inpatient detoxification, and guidance on drug and alcohol death review processes.
The Office for Life Sciences is also running a £5 million fund to tackle fatal drug deaths across the United Kingdom, which is investing in research projects that are developing technologies aimed at improving detection, response, or intervention in potential drug-related deaths. Further information on this fund is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/5-million-fund-to-tackle-fatal-drug-deaths-across-the-uk
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Newcastle (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to data released by the Office for National Statistics Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2022, published on 22 April, which showed that the North-East had the highest rate of alcohol-specific deaths of any English region in 2022, what steps they are taking to reduce alcohol-related harm in that region.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through the 2021 Drugs Strategy we are making the largest ever single increase in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding, with £780 million of additional investment. Of this, £532 million is being invested to rebuild local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England, including alcohol treatment services. The Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery (SSMTR) Grant is the mechanism by which local authorities receive Drug Strategy funding. This is additional to the amounts invested through the Public Health Grant. The following table shows the SSMTR Grant and the Inpatient Detox (IPD) Grant allocations for the North East, in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25, as well as the total for those three years:
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | Total |
SSMTR | £7,051,992 | £13,677,970 | £24,787,253 | £45,517,215 |
IPD | £727,295 | £727,295 | £727,295 | £2,181,885 |
The Department is also providing £1,157,212 in funding to three local authorities in the North East, specifically Middlesborough, Newcastle, and Durham, to improve access to drug and alcohol treatment services for people who sleep rough, or who are at risk of sleeping rough. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, between 2019/20 and 2024/25, NHS England has made over £30 million available to local healthcare systems to facilitate the delivery of specialist Alcohol Care Teams in hospitals in the areas with the highest rates of alcohol harm and socioeconomic deprivation.
The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities is developing comprehensive United Kingdom guidelines for the clinical management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. The overarching aim of the guideline is to develop a clear consensus on good practice, and improve the quality of treatment and support.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Newcastle (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of data by the Office for National Statistics Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2022 on 22 April, which revealed that 2022 was the highest year on record for deaths from alcohol-specific causes registered in the UK, what plans they have to publish an alcohol-specific strategy.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through the 2021 Drugs Strategy we are making the largest ever single increase in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery funding, with £780 million of additional investment. Of this, £532 million is being invested to rebuild local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England, including alcohol treatment services. The Supplemental Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery (SSMTR) Grant is the mechanism by which local authorities receive Drug Strategy funding. This is additional to the amounts invested through the Public Health Grant. The following table shows the SSMTR Grant and the Inpatient Detox (IPD) Grant allocations for the North East, in 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25, as well as the total for those three years:
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | Total |
SSMTR | £7,051,992 | £13,677,970 | £24,787,253 | £45,517,215 |
IPD | £727,295 | £727,295 | £727,295 | £2,181,885 |
The Department is also providing £1,157,212 in funding to three local authorities in the North East, specifically Middlesborough, Newcastle, and Durham, to improve access to drug and alcohol treatment services for people who sleep rough, or who are at risk of sleeping rough. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, between 2019/20 and 2024/25, NHS England has made over £30 million available to local healthcare systems to facilitate the delivery of specialist Alcohol Care Teams in hospitals in the areas with the highest rates of alcohol harm and socioeconomic deprivation.
The Office for Health Improvements and Disparities is developing comprehensive United Kingdom guidelines for the clinical management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence. The overarching aim of the guideline is to develop a clear consensus on good practice, and improve the quality of treatment and support.