HC Deb 30 January 2002 vol 379 cc398-9W
Chris Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered young drug addicts aged 16 to 24 years there are by region, expressed as(a) a percentage figure and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest date available. [30597]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth

The term "registered addict" has no generally agreed definition in the United Kingdom. However, the Department of Health has published information on the number of drug misusers in treatment in England in 2000–01. The information available is in the following table. No comparable figures are available for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Number and percentage of drug misusers aged under 25 years in treatment by the national health service regional office area 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001
Number Percentage
England 37,453 100
Northern and Yorkshire 8,031 21
London 6,512 17
North West 5,020 13
South West 4,552 12
West Midlands 3,918 10
Trent 3,784 10
South East 3,346 9
Eastern 2,290 6

Source:

Department of Health Statistical Bulletin 2001/33: Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases on drug misusers in treatment in England, 2000–01 (tables 5 and 6). Available at www.doh.gov/public/sb0133.pdf