To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on commissioning Glasgow University to develop more robust methodology for understanding prevalence of problematic drug users; and when new PDU figures and a new methodology are expected to be published. (100653)

I have been asked to reply.

The research to produce estimates of problem drug use (opiate and/or crack cocaine use) and to further develop the methodology for producing such estimates, which is being undertaken by a research team led by Dr. Gordon Hay of the University of Glasgow, has been under way since April 2005. The report of the first sweep of the research project, containing estimates of prevalence of problem drug use for the year 2004-05 and describing the methodology used were published on 23 November 2006.

The main report forms the second chapter in the Home Office Online report 16/06 ‘Measuring different aspects of problem drug use: methodological developments’. It will be available on the RDS area of the Home Office website:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html

Local level estimates for all 149 Drug Action Team areas in England were published in nine separate regional reports on the National Treatment Agency website, also on 23 November:

http://www.nta.nhs.uk/