Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of synthetic opioids; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of (a) related crises and (b) governmental responses in (i) the USA and (ii) Canada.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling Class A drugs, including synthetic opioids, is a priority for the Government due to the harm caused to users, society and the economy.
We assess that the scale of trafficking of synthetic opioids into the UK remains low, including relative to countries like the USA and Canada where they have caused devastation. Sadly, nitazenes have been linked to more than 100 deaths in the UK during the last year, and we are taking action.
The cross-Government Synthetic Opioids Taskforce is working with partners, such as the NCA, the Department for Health and Social Care and the National Police Chiefs Council to deliver an evidence-based response to the risk posed by synthetic opioids, and to implement effective action to stem the demand and supply of these dangerous substances.
We regularly meet bilaterally with our partners in the USA and Canada to understand the tragic situation in North America and to learn from their responses. We are key members of the US-led Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats, and I recently attended the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna to meet with and learn from partners across the world.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of (a) expansion and (b) potential roll-out across the UK of the WEDINOS laboratory drug-testing service.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government has not made a formal assessment of the benefits of drug testing services but it recognises the potential harm reduction benefits of them. The Government facilitates drug testing services provided that the possession and supply of controlled drugs are licensed by the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit or, exceptionally, relevant exemptions under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 may apply.
Ministers are clear that drug testing services must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly, in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to help prepare for potential increases in levels of synthetic opioid-related harms.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are highly alert to the emerging threat from the arrival of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. The Department is an active member of the cross-Government synthetic opioids taskforce, which was established in the Summer of 2023, to develop mitigations to the synthetic opioids threat.
In July 2023, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities issued a National Patient Safety Alert, which promoted awareness and provided clear instructions for staff in health settings across the country, to ensure they are prepared for anyone that may present with an overdose caused by synthetic opioids.
We are developing an early warning system to improve drug surveillance on synthetic opioids, and are also expanding access to naloxone, a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, so that more professionals and services can give out take-home supplies.
We are engaging on this issue internationally via the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, and are playing an active role in the United States-convened Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to place opioid-overdose reversal Naloxone alongside existing public access defibrillators.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that the police have due regard to protecting the freedom of journalistic (a) photography and (b) other activity when implementing powers under the National Security Act 2023 relating to activity in the vicinity of prohibited places.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The prohibited places measures were included under the National Security Act to safeguard the United Kingdom’s most sensitive sites from hostile activity. The accompanying police powers enable the police to protect these sites by requiring people to not engage in certain conduct and to move away from these places where they have a reasonable belief that doing so is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.
Recognised journalists conducting activity on or near prohibited sites – for example, a journalist taking photos from outside a prohibited place – where they do not have a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK and there is nothing to suggest taking photographs is not permitted, such as signage or other distinguishing marker, would not commit an offence.
The police have access to comprehensive guidance on how officers should use the powers in relation to prohibited places under the National Security Act 2023. We do not routinely publish internal guidance, however, further resources and information on the prohibited places regime are available on gov.uk.