To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the 21 per cent increase in hospital admissions for drug-related
mental and behavioural disorders since 2009/10; and what action
they intend to take as a result of any such assessment.
(Con)
My Lords, in 2019-20 there were 7,027 admissions for drug-related
mental and behavioural disorders. Admissions were 5% lower that
year than in the previous year and 18% lower than at their peak
in 2015-16. The factors driving changes in this data are complex.
None the less, admissions are too high and the Government are
committed to further progress in reducing them, including through
increased funding for drug treatment and mental health services
and improving co-ordination between their provision.
(Con)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her Answer. Cannabis use
does not just lead to mental ill-health and behavioural
disorders; it is also contributing to the existential threat that
is falling fertility levels and particularly falling sperm counts
across the western world. Do the Government recognise the
seriousness of these outcomes from recreational drug use and will
they factor them into policy decisions, rather than being
deterred by liberal individualism?
(Con)
My Lords, any illegal drug use, including use of cannabis, can be
harmful both from immediate side-effects and from long-term
physical and mental health problems. It can, for some, have a
negative impact on fertility. Cannabis is classed as a class B
drug, which is a matter for the Home Office, but there are no
plans to change that classification.
(Lab) [V]
Look, my Lords, there is no great mystery: people with mental
health problems have seen their community services reduce over
time, which means that there is an inevitable increase in
admissions to hospitals under a section of the Mental Health Act.
The promised reform of the Mental Health Act might help and will
be welcome in any event, but it is obvious that more resources in
community support are needed to prevent admissions, as well as an
increase in the numbers of skilled professionals to provide the
therapy. What is the Government’s plan to improve these mental
health services outside hospitals and where are the necessary
resources?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to increasing resources
for drug treatment services in England next year and we have put
in an extra £80 million for that. That will fund, among other
things, additional in-patient detox beds. We are also committed
to increasing the resources that go into mental health treatments
through the NHS long-term plan.
(DUP) [V]
My Lords, with the number of people across the United Kingdom
suffering from drug-related mental and behavioural disorders at a
serious level, what education awareness or other preventive
measures are the Government providing to stem the tide of
drug-related illnesses? When will adequate mental health
resources be made available? What percentage of those admitted to
hospital with these illnesses are readmissions?
(Con)
My Lords, one of the complexities in the data that I referred to
is that we do not know whether the increase in admissions relates
to different people being admitted each time or multiple
readmissions among people with drug misuse problems and mental
health issues. On education, Public Health England’s Rise Above
social marketing campaign aims to equip 11 to 16 year-olds with
the skills required to reject or manage risky behaviours,
including taking drugs. Talk to FRANK is the Government’s drugs
information and advice service, which provides information and
advice to young people and parents to help to protect children
from drugs and/or alcohol misuse.
(Con)
[V]
My Lords, a recent report from the Centre for Social Justice
found that the number of young people in treatment for drug and
alcohol dependency had dropped by 35% since 2009. It is accepted,
however, that this cannot be explained by differing consumption
levels. Since 2014, approximately 30 residential rehabilitation
centres have been forced to sell assets to survive public funding
cuts. What assessment, if any, have the Government made of the
CSJ report recommendations, including returning funding to the
sector to at least the levels of 2012 and the creation of a
prevention and recovery agency for the formulation of an
addiction strategy?
(Con)
My Lords, to address this, we have asked Dame Carol Black to
complete part 2 of a review of drugs to look at treatment for
people with substance misuse problems. As I said earlier, we have
increased the funding for drug treatment services in England next
year, including for additional in-patient detox beds.
(LD)
We now have several reports showing that LGBT people have a
greater than average incidence of mental health and substance
misuse problems. Yet there is no mention of this community in the
latest mental health proposals and a complete absence of any
mention of this group of people in the NHS plan. What will the
Government do to make the leadership of the NHS stop ignoring
this particular bunch of taxpayers?
(Con)
My Lords, in April 2019, we appointed Dr Michael Brady as the
first national adviser on LGBT healthcare, and we also had the £1
million LGBT health and social care fund to tackle health
inequalities experienced by LGBT people. Projects funded by that
initiative included Advonet, which developed a self-advocacy
course for LGBT people with mental health issues, and training by
the Royal College of General Practitioners for GPs and surgery
staff on LGBT health and inequality.
(Con) [V]
My Lords, can the Minister confirm that there will be an
advertising campaign highlighting how recreational cocaine use
destroys the lives of vulnerable young people because of county
lines activity? Can she ensure that the campaign includes
cannabis and skunk use, not least because of the mental health
harms raised by my noble friend, which we as a nation are
increasingly concerned about?
(Con)
My Lords, there are the two educational campaigns that I have
already referred to: PHE’s Rise Above social marketing campaign
and Talk to FRANK. My noble friend mentioned county lines
activity, which is of great concern to the Government. On 20
January, we announced £40 million of dedicated investment to
tackle drug supply and county lines and to surge our activity
against these ruthless gangs.
(CB)
My Lords, alcohol is by far and away the most common and popular
drug, yet 9% of people with alcohol dependence account for 59% of
alcohol-related admissions to hospital, which take up 1.4 million
beds a year. This seems a shameful waste of resources and source
of human misery. Can the Minister assure me that the detox beds
are only a part of the solution, as just taking someone away from
alcohol for four days will not be a long-term solution?
(Con)
Absolutely. Part 2 of Dame Carol Black’s review of drugs, which
should report to the Government shortly, is expected to include
recommendations on what can be done nationally and locally to
tackle drug and substance misuse and the support needed for those
who face addiction and mental health issues.
(Lab)
My Lords, in 2019, five out of 12 English regions did not have a
doctor training to specialise in addiction psychiatry. Indeed,
funding for addiction services in England fell by 29% in real
terms from 2013 to 2020—and we can add to that the fact that
virtually all services and treatments available have been
disrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic. Do the Government have a plan
to address the regional disparities of drug misuse and
drug-related mental and behavioural disorders?
(Con)
My Lords, the noble Baroness is absolutely right that we need to
do more in this area and that Covid has made it harder. That is
one reason why the Government have announced an additional £500
million for 2021-22 to support NHS mental health services to
recover from the pandemic, address wait times and invest in the
NHS workforce.
(LD) [V]
What plans do the Government have to address the shortfall in
supported housing for vulnerable people, such as recovering drug
and alcohol users and people with mental health issues?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to putting more funding
into both the provision of more affordable housing and more
social housing, which will help to address these issues.
(Con)
[V]
The long-term use of cannabis and high-strength cannabis
contribute a great deal to diseases of the mind and the brain.
Have their effects been factored into social care and dementia
strategies and the long-term NHS plans? Can the Minister
elaborate on that?
(Con)
My Lords, one challenge among drug treatment services is an
ageing population for certain drug users. I will certainly take
my noble friend’s point away and write to him with any further
details.
