§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in meeting the target of reducing the number of drug-related deaths since 1999. [156291]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe number of drug related deaths since 1999 is shown in the table.
England and Wales England only 1999 1,571 1.484 2000 1,666 1,565 2001 1,628 1,528 2002 1,565 1,456 Notes: 1. Since the publication of drug related deaths in 2001 in February 2003, additional substances have become controlled. Earlier years' data have been updated to reflect these drugs. This means that the new data are comparable across the time period, despite the fact that some of the drugs were not controlled in the earlier years. 2. The 2002 figures, published by the Office for National Statistics on 26 February 2004, show a fall in the number of drug related deaths for the second consecutive year and the figure is now below the 1999 baseline. Source: Office for National Statistics.