§ Lord Adebowaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people on arrest referral programmes in England and Wales have received crack cocaine treatment for each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the 8WA years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for the number of people to receive such treatment when on arrest referral programmes; and [HL854]
How many people on arrest referral programmes in England and Wales have received heroin treatment for each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for the number of people to receive such treatment when on arrest referral programmes; and [HL855]
How many people on arrest referral programmes in England and Wales have received treatment for combined crack cocaine and heroin dependency for each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for the number of people to receive such treatment when on arrest referral programmes. [HL856]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe most recent data for all arrest referral schemes in England and Wales shows that in the year to October 2002, 22,329 individuals were referred to specialist drug treatment.
We are moving away from the stand-alone arrest referral concept and developing contact in custody suites, courts and elsewhere as part of a wider range of entry points into the drug interventions programme to enable offenders to receive treatment.
More recent figures are available for the total number of drug users entering treatment through the drug interventions programme, many of whom will be either primary crack cocaine users, primary heroin users or poly-drug users but receive treatment for the range of substances used.
Between April 2003 and March 2004 an estimated 1,900 people entered treatment through the drug interventions programme in those 25 areas then operating the "intensive" programme. Between April 2004 and November 2004, over 9,000 people entered treatment through the 47 intensive areas in the programme, with 211 per cent more people entering treatment in November than in April.
From 2005 to 2007, we expect to achieve our ambition of getting 1,000 offenders a week into treatment by March 2008 and are currently running ahead of the interim target to get 1,250 offenders per month into treatment by March 2005.
The drug interventions programme is having a positive impact on drug treatment for all drug users and is acting as a catalyst to improve availability, accessibility and quality of treatment.
§ Lord Adebowaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of the drug treatment budget, both for community and criminal funding programmes, was allocated to tackling crack cocaine dependency for each year for which figures are available; and what allocations they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for crack cocaine treatment, both for community and criminal funding programmes, in England and Wales; and [HL903]
9WAWhat proportion of the drug treatment budget, both for community and criminal funding programmes, was allocated to tackling heroin dependency for each year for which figures are available; and what allocations they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for heroin treatment, both for community and criminal funding programmes, in England and Wales; and [HL904]
What proportion of the drug treatment budget, both for community and criminal funding programmes, was allocated to tackling combined crack cocaine and heroin dependency for each year for which figures are available; and what allocations they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for treatment for combined crack cocaine and heroin dependency, both for community and criminal funding programmes, in England and Wales. [HL905]
§ Baroness Scotland of AsthalThe pooled treatment budget (PTB) provides funding for the treatment and rehabilitation of people with drug problems, including offenders. PTB allocations began in 2001–02 and the national allocations up to 2006–07 are outlined below (Fig.1).
Fig. 1 Table of National Pooled Treatment Budget Allocations Year Allocation (millions) 2001–02 £129 2002–03 £191.2 2003–04 £236.1 2004–05 £253.4 2005–06 £299.4 2006–07 £423.8 This funding is distributed to local drug action teams (DATs) together with additional resources from health authorities and other sources to fund treatment provision in their areas to meet local needs. It is the responsibility of DATs to assess the local treatment needs in their area and to allocate funds accordingly to address local drug use and meet individually assessed needs. Figures on spending on treatment for each drug type are not collected centrally. The National Treatment Agency assesses each DAT to ensure they have sufficient treatment available across the different drug treatment modalities, appropriate to the needs of their area.
Funding from the drug interventions programme (DIP), which is directed at getting drug misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment, is not intended to fund mainstream treatment programmes. Nevertheless, local partnerships have discretion to spend some of their DIP funding on schemes which assist engagement and retention of offenders—such as rapid prescribing.
§ Lord Adebowaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people have received crack cocaine treatment in the community in England and Wales in each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the years 2005–06 and 10WA 2006–07 for the number of people to receive crack cocaine treatment; and [HL833]
How many people have received heroin treatment in the community in England and Wales in each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for the number of people to receive heroin treatment; and [HL834]
How many people have received treatment for combined crack cocaine and heroin dependency in the community in England and Wales in each year for which figures are available; and what targets they have set for the years 2005–06 and 2006–07 for the number of people to receive treatment for combined crack cocaine and heroin dependency. [HL835]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner)The information requested on numbers in treatment for drug misuse, by drug of misuse was not available centrally for years up to 2002–03.
The National Treatment Agency will be publishing data in spring 2005, which will provide statistics on the number of those in treatment in 2003–04, where cocaine and heroin were a problem drug, and where it is noted that the individual is co-dependent on cocaine and heroin.
There is no specific target for the number of people to receive crack cocaine and heroin treatment, and treatment for combined cocaine and heroin dependency in 2005–06 and 2006–07.
Data on drug treatment for Wales is a matter for the Welsh administration.