Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment with the Home Secretary of the potential merits of funding a wider rollout of long-acting Injectable Buprenorphine as a treatment option for people using opioids in Dorset.

The Department supports the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine as an option for those undergoing Opioid Substitution Treatment. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol treatment services according to local need, and this includes the provision of long-acting injectable buprenorphine.

In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26 the Department is providing Dorset Council with £1,469,140 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The Department encourages local authorities to prioritise resourcing long-acting injectable buprenorphine prescribing from this additional funding if current provision is not adequate.

The Department is currently doing more analysis to understand cost-effectiveness and develop clinical guidance, and to scope out how best to expand access to long-acting injectable buprenorphine further.