Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has for consultation in advance of its forthcoming long term drug strategy.

The Government published its initial response to Dame Carol Black’s independent review of drugs on 27 July, and the upcoming drug strategy will set out our more detailed response to the review’s recommendations. It will present our whole-of-government approach to combating drug misuse by supporting people through treatment and recovery and driving down drug supply and demand.

We are continuing to engage with external experts across a wide range of sectors in order to shape the approach and interventions set out in the strategy, building on the research undertaken as part of the independent review. Dame Carol is also working with the Government on the development and delivery of the strategy in her new role as an independent advisor.