Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to tackle alcohol harm in LGBTQ+ communities.

Through the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, we are investing £532 million over three years to support local authority commissioned substance misuse treatment services in England. The strategy committed to developing a national drug and alcohol commissioning quality standard which will require local authorities to commission services to meet the needs of local populations, including for those with protected characteristics. The standard will be published shortly.

Local authorities are responsible for allocating the investment in drug and alcohol services, based upon an assessment of the local population’s health needs. Local authorities will adhere to the new commissioning quality standard and increased support for workforce development and capacity will be provided.