Written question asked by Mike Wood (Batley and Spen) (Labour) on Friday, 4 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 December 2009. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Wednesday, 9 December 2009 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Drugs: Misuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on trends relating to the (i) age, (ii) sex, (iii) ethnicity and (iv) sexual orientation of (A) crack cocaine users, (B) heroin users and (C) problem drug users in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: The Government places great importance on the collection of trend data on drug use, and funds a number of strands of activity. The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System which is maintained and developed by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse's collects information about the impact of drug treatment on a range of groups of service users. The Home Office collects information annually through the British Crime Survey and has also commissioned national and regional estimates of the prevalence of opiate use and crack cocaine use. The Office of National Statistics publishes annual information about trends in drugs deaths. The Department of Health funds additional work by St. George's University of London through the national programme on substance abuse deaths which provides additional information on trends in drugs deaths.Copies of the relevant reports can be found in the Library.

Secondary information