Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies on reducing drug-related deaths of the report entitled, Drug-related deaths in England: local authorities and how they are responding, published by the National AIDs Trust in January 2019.

No formal assessment has been made of the National AIDS Trust report. However officials will consider its findings in the development of future drugs policy. The Government is concerned by the number of drug-related deaths and is supporting local areas to develop a more joined up approach to commissioning and delivering the range of services that are essential to supporting recovery and preventing drug-related deaths.