Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 (Liberal Democrat - 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 - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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 - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of 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: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)
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 (Conservative - 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 | |||
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, what assessment he has made of the effect of the change in the level of the Public Health Grant on the (a) quality of drug treatment services and (b) number of drug-related deaths in the 2015 to 2019 Spending Review period .
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 shall 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: 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 he has made an assessment of the effect of the change to the level of the Public Health Grant over the forthcoming 2019 Spending Review on the (a) quality of drug treatment services and (b) 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 shall 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: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential links between retail crime incidents and illegal drug use.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We know that there is a strong link between drug misuse and offending, and offenders who use heroin and crack cocaine are estimated to commit 45% of all acquisitive crime.
The Government recognises that there are strong links between drug misuse and offending. Our Drug Strategy is clear that supporting people to address their dependence on drugs through treatment and recovery support is critical to tackling the risk of reoffending. This includes the use of health-based, rehabilitative interventions within the criminal justice system to help prevent further substance misuse and offending.
In addition, I chair the National Retail Crime Steering Group which brings together key partners to drive forward progress on tackling retail crime.