Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of overdoses that were (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully reversed with Naloxone in each year since 2010.

The Government has responded to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and agrees with recommendations five, six and seven in the report entitled Review of the UK Naloxone Implementation. As part of the Government’s ambition to reduce drug-related deaths, we recognise the benefits of more services and professionals being able to supply naloxone without a prescription. The Department in partnership with the devolved administrations consulted on this issue in 2021. Following this, the Department is working closely with the devolved administrations on options to increase availability of naloxone without a prescription. This includes possible amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to enable more services and professionals to be able to supply take-home naloxone, under powers in the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021. The department will provide a full response to the consultation in due course.

The Department cannot make an estimate of the number and proportion of overdoses that were successfully and unsuccessfully reversed with Naloxone in each year since 2010 as this data is not held centrally. There are currently no plans to make an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of supplying Naloxone to the National Health Service.