§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list those voluntary organisations concerned with those who have become addicted to prescribed tranquillisers and sedatives; which of them have applied to his Department for grants; what sum was applied for in each case; for what purpose; and what has been the result.
§ Mr. John MacKayI am not aware of any voluntary organisations in Scotland concerned solely with people who have become addicted to prescribed tranquillisers and sedatives; and no such organisation has applied to my Department for grant. There are, however, several voluntary organisations in Scotland receiving Government grants for assisting problem drug takers, and I understand that some of these bodies do offer help to persons who have become addicted to tranquillisers and sedatives.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of prescriptions for and the total amount prescribed of (a) tranquillisers and (b) sedatives in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe numbers of prescriptions for sedatives and tranquillisers dispensed in Scotland in the years 1975–83 are as follows:78W
Thousands Year Prescriptions 1975 *2,279 1976 2,282 1977 2,370 1978 2,376 1979 2,332 1980 2,116 1981 2,098 1982 2,078 1983 1,752 * Prior year's figures not complete. It is not possible to provide separate figures for tranquillisers and sedatives or to give quantities without incurring disproportionate costs. The 1984 figure is not yet available.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will undertake an inquiry into the incidence of addiction to prescribed tranquillisers and sedatives in each region.
§ Mr. John MacKayA fieldwork survey has recently been carried out into the prevalence of drug misuse generally in the Greater Glasgow health board area; and a similar survey is now being undertaken in Edinburgh. Both of these inquiries are being funded by the Scottish Home and Health Department. There are at present no proposals to conduct such inquiries in other areas.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of persons addicted to prescribed tranquillisers and sedatives.
§ Mr. John MacKayNo statistics are available centrally which would enable such an estimate to be made.