AQW 13845/22-27


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 26/06/2024
Answered On Date: 04/07/2024
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any plans she has to develop or improve legislation on tackling drug use in city centres and town centres.


Answer:
The legal framework relating to the use of drugs, including the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, is reserved to the UK Government. The PSNI lead on enforcement of this legislation with the support partners such as Border Force.
The Department of Health (DoH) lead on drug policy and the development of public health initiatives to address problematic substance use in Northern Ireland but, recognising the complexities of addressing this issue, input from key partners is critical to success.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) is a member of the DoH-led Substance Use Strategy Programme Board which helps to drive forward and oversee the implementation of the 10-year strategy aiming to tackle the harms caused by substance use. There are a number of actions within the strategy that my Department is either directly or indirectly involved in delivering.
Another important focus for my Department is the promotion and support of preventative approaches to substance use and the harm and vulnerabilities associated with addiction.
Multi-Agency Support Hubs, part-funded by my Department, work at a local level to address vulnerabilities, including addiction, that can bring individuals into the criminal justice system. Support Hubs are in operation in all eleven council areas and each Hub helps vulnerable people get access to the right support, at the right time, from the right organisations within their local area.
Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs), funded by the DoJ and the Northern Ireland Policing Board, also deliver local interventions to address harm and vulnerability. This includes Belfast PCSP funding of the Street Injectors Support Service (SISS) which targets the impact of discarded injecting equipment and delivers proactive outreach, as well as providing visible reassurance to the public and City Centre business owners.
The Belfast PCSP contributes funding to the Complex Lives project which provides an integrated whole system response to support people caught in a cycle of homelessness, substance misuse, offending behaviour, and poor physical and mental health.
Other PCSP projects include awareness raising around substance use, the funding of counselling services, and provision of Remove All Prescription and Illegal Drugs (RAPID) bins which provide for the disposal of all types of prescription and illegal drugs from the local community.