§ Mr. FitzpatrickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the regional database of drug users into a reconstituted national database; and if he will make a statement. [23924]
§ Ms JowellThe Regional Drug Misuse Databases hold anonymised information about people presenting to services for problem drug users for the first time or for the first time for six months. Data from each of the databases are collected and analysed centrally by the Department of Health and published as the Statistical Bulletin "Drug Misuse Statistics", which presents data both at national and regional levels. Copies of the most recent bulletin for the six month period ending 31 March 1996 have been placed in the Library.
The Department is currently at an early stage of work with health authorities, database managers and other interests on the strategic development of the Regional Drug Misuse Databases.