Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information the Care Quality Commissioned has obtained through its inspections on (a) how the controlled drug Xanax is managed within health and care services and (b) the failures that lead to the diversion of Xanax to the criminal market.

Alprazolam (available under the trade name Xanax) has very limited availability on the National Health Service. As a consequence, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) sees very little of it on its inspection of health and care services. The CQC would only come across it through inspection of its independent providers, from which it is not currently aware of any concerns.

The CQC is aware of alprazolam misuse through attendance at NHS England led Controlled Drug Local Intelligence Networks. Concerns have been raised by police controlled drug liaison officers at these meetings but these relate to alprazolam which they believe is being obtained by other means, not by diversion from the legal supply chain.