What action is the Welsh Government taking to support local authorities and homelessness organisations to prevent drug misuse and overdose by homeless individuals?
Supporting people who use both drugs and alcohol continues to be a priority for the Welsh Government. We are investing almost £64m in our substance misuse agenda this financial year which will increase to over £67m in 2023-24.
Homelessness and substance misuse services support some of the most vulnerable people often with complex needs. In 2022-23, we are providing Area Planning Boards with £2m to support services for people with housing and complex needs, including co-occurring mental health and substance misuse. This funding will increase to £3.5m and £4.5m in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively. The funding specifically supports a multi-agency response, bringing together substance misuse and mental health services to work with homelessness services to provide wrap around care.
We have funded, and will continue to fund, our national Naloxone programme which is a key part of our harm reduction approach in Wales. The supply of Naloxone (a drug which temporarily reverses the effects of opiate overdose) was initiated as a pilot project in 2009 as a harm reduction tool to minimise fatal opioid poisonings. This has since been fully implemented across the seven health boards in Wales.
Within current legislation it is permissible for premises to hold Naloxone where there is a risk of an overdose. Throughout Wales, hostels have been encouraged to store Naloxone in the event of an overdose and we continue to work with partners to ensure wide distribution in an attempt to reduce both non-fatal and fatal drug poisonings.
As part of this work, Wales has become the first country in the UK to fully roll out peer to peer distribution of Naloxone. This enables peers to engage with individuals, including those who are homeless and who may not otherwise come into contact with services and therefore may not have the opportunity to carry Naloxone.