Written question WQ92887

Policing is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Home Office. However, we work closely with policing partners given the interface between their work and devolved areas including treatment for substance misuse.

From a public health perspective, we are working closely with a range of partners, including the police, to respond to the threat of nitazenes. A national group has been established by the third sector organisation BAROD and this has been supported by Welsh Government. This group includes a range of partners including front line staff, harm reduction leads and the police. The aim of the group is to agree interventions and actions which should be put in place nationally and at a local level to respond to potential scenarios ranging from very localised sudden and dramatic increases in synthetic opioids to a general widespread rise in these across Wales.

We are fortunate to have the WEDINOS programme in Wales, which has been a key step forward in the analysis of substances. The project provides real-time data and harm reduction information about new and emerging substances circulating across Wales and the UK, reducing the harm to individuals. WEDINOS then cascades this information to a range of partners, including the police. Information from WEDINOS is cascaded this to service users in numerous ways including via face-to-face contact, bulletins, and the use of social media. This is vital to ensure service users are aware of the risk of some drugs which might be in circulation.

Within Wales we have a successful take home naloxone programme. which is continually developing to ensure kits are provided via a range of sources with over 35,000 kits distributed in Wales since July 2009. We have worked very closely with the police on this and every police force in Wales has officers who are carrying naloxone to use if they come across an overdose situation. This is particularly important given the threat of nitazenes at present.

In relation to communications on nitazenes, we have worked with DAN 24/7, our drug and alcohol helpline, and utilised existing LED signs to incorporate harm reduction messages about the risk of contaminated drugs. These signs have been displayed in a range of public places and allow a far reach to people who otherwise may not get any information. DAN 24/7 have updated their website to include information on nitazenes. Nitazenes | Facts about Nitazenes::DAN 24/7 (dan247.org.uk)