§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the health authorities that have applied for central funding to support initiatives concerned with drug abuse, indicating which applications have been successful; and if he will list those authorities which have not made an application.
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§ Mr. John PattenThe following health authorities have applied for funding under the central initiative to provide services for drug misusers. Funds have been made available to date to those marked with an asterisk.
Northern Region
- Hartlepool
- South Tees
- *East Cumbria
- South Cumbria
- Darlington
- Northumberland
- *Newcastle
- North Tyneside
- *South Tyneside
- Sunderland
Yorkshire Region
- East Yorkshire
- Hull
- Scunthorpe
- *York
- Bradford
- Calderdale
- *Leeds Western
- Pontefract
Trent Region
- Leicester
- *North Lincolnshire
- *Nottingham
- Rotherham
- Sheffield
East Anglian Region
- *Cambridge
- *Peterborough
- *Norwich
- Great Yarmouth and Waveney
- West Norfolk and Wisbech
North West Thames Region
- *North Bedfordshire
- South Bedfordshire
- *North Hertfordshire
- East Hertfordshire
- North West Hertfordshire
- Barnet
- Harrow
- *Hillingdon
- Hounslow and Spelthorne
- *Ealing
- Brent
- *Paddington and North Kensington
- *Hammersmith and Fulham (now Riverside)
- *Victoria
North East Thames Region
- North East Essex
- west Essex
- *Southend
- *Barking, Havering and Brentwood
- *Bloomsbury
- Islington
- *City and Hackney
- Tower Hamlets
- *Enfield
- Haringey
- Redbridge
South East Thames Region
- *Brighton
- Hastings
- South East Kent
- Medway
- Tunbridge Wells
- Bexley
- *Greenwich
- *Bromley
- *West Lambeth
165 - *Bethlem and Maudsley
- *Lewisham and North Southwark
- Camberwell
South West Thames Region
- North West Surrey
- West Surrey and North East Hampshire
- *Mid-Surrey
- Chichester
- *Mid-Downs
- Worthing
- *Kingston and Esher
- Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton
- *Wandsworth
Wessex Region
- *East Dorset
- *Portsmouth and South East Hampshire
- Swindon
- *Isle of Wight
Oxford Region
- *Oxford RHA
- West Berkshire
- Northampton
South Western Region
- *Frenchay
- *North Devon
- Plymouth
West Midlands Region
- Herefordshire
- Kidderminster and District
- *Worcester and District
- *Shropshire
- *Mid-Staffordshire
- North Staffordshire
- South Warwickshire
- *West Birmingham
- *Coventry
- Sandwell
- *Walsall
- *Wolverhampton
Mersey Region
- *Mersey RHA
- Chester
- *Halton
- Macclesfield
- Warrington
- St. Helens and Knowsley
- South Sefton (Merseyside)
- *Wirral
North Western Region
- *North Western RHA
- *Lancaster
- Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley
- West Lancashire
- Bolton
- North Manchester
- Central Manchester
- Rochdale
- Tameside and Glossop
- Wigan
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money has been allocated to each of the health regions to help in countering drug abuse; and on what criteria the money was allocated.
§ Mr. John PattenThe following sums have been allocated to each of the health regions under the central funding initiative for the provision of services for drug misusers.
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Region £ Northern 781,214 Yorkshire 248,449 Trent 486,652 East Anglian 295,569 North West Thames 1,172,173 North East Thames 1,398,131 South East Thames 253,843 South West Thames 428,996 Wessex 485,654 Oxford 319,905 South Western 317,780 West Midlands 669,627 Mersey 866,552 North Western 453,377 The sums include grants made to voluntary organisations. The criteria on which funds have been allocated include the merits of proposed projects and the extent of the local need for services and the development of a wide range of services.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) which health regions, in which there is a town or city with a population of over 200,000, have had central Government funding to help with the problem of drug abuse;
(2) if he will list the health authorities in which there is a town or city with a population of over 200,000 which do not have a drug information and treatment centre;
(3) what evidence he has of the relative size of the problem of drug abuse in the towns and cities in the United Kingdom that have a population of over 200,000.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation on the prevalence of drug misuse and existing or planned services for drug misusers in English regions is contained in the report "Drug Misuse: Prevalence and Service Provision", which we have published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.
Health services in other parts of the United Kingdom are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence he has received regarding the incidence of drug abuse in North Staffordshire; and what information and treatment facilities are available.
§ Mr. John PattenNorth Staffordshire drug advisory committee is currently assessing the extent of drug misuse in the district. Patients with drug problems may be treated locally by consultant psychiatrists as part of their general case load or by primary heal the care teams, or may be referred to the regional addiction unit at Ass Saints hospital in Birmingham or the personality disorder unit at St. George's hospital, Mid-Staffordshire. Information for drug misusers and their relatives is available from the district's health education department.
We have published a summary of health authority reports on the prevalence of drug misuse, existing services and plans for service development today.
§ Mr. Haselhurstasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will publish the results of the review of services for drug misusers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenThe report, entitled "Drug Misuse: Prevalence and Service Provision" has been published 167W today. It contains information provided by health authorities and other agencies on the prevalence of drug misuse and on plans for improving services for drug misusers. The work carried out by health authorities indicates that they share the Government's concern that urgent action should be taken in this field. The Government are grateful to health authorities and other agencies for the effort they have devoted to seeking information on the prevalence of drug misuse and formulating plans for improving services.
However, good services, whether in the statutory or voluntary sector, can never be the whole answer to the problem. The Government will continue to do all they can to restrict the quantities of illegal drugs coming into the country and their distribution here and to make provision for those in need of help. But it is ultimately up to the Community as a whole to help with quelling this evil, helping those who are addicted or might be tempted to experiment.
For their part, the Government consider that the development of services for drug misusers must remain a high priority for the foreseeable future, and I shall continue to monitor their development, through regional health authorities. Ministers will be writing to regional health authorities individually to comment on the progress they have made and to encourage appropriate further action. They intend that there should be multi-agency drug advisory committees for every region and district by the end of 1985.