Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 November 2021 on Drugs: Misuse, if she will provide details of the (a) key partners and (b) external experts in the drugs field that have been consulted.

The new Drug Strategy will respond in full to Dame Carol Black’s review and set out our long-term ambition to combat drugs. Parts one and two of Dame Carol Black’s review include comprehensive lists of the experts and wider partners in the drugs field who she engaged with to gather evidence and seek advice.

We have continued to engage external experts to inform the development of the new Drug Strategy, including Dame Carol Black in her role as independent advisor, Dr Ed Day our National Recovery Champion, and the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. We also continue to engage wider partners in the drugs field, including the National Police Chiefs Council and substance misuse treatment providers and commissioners.

We will undertake further engagement with experts and partners in the field to support the implementation of the Strategy and to inform annual reports to Parliament.