I welcome the opportunity to take part in this important debate. Substance abuse affects every section of our society and communities. Thirty four per cent of men and 28 per cent of women drank more than the recommended limits on at least one day during the last week. Adults living in households in the highest income bracket are twice as likely to drink heavily as adults in the lowest income bracket. Older people tend to drink more frequently than younger people, and young people are more likely to take drugs than older people. One in 16 to 24-year-olds have taken illicit drugs during the last year compared with just over one in 50 in the 55 to 59-year-old bracket. Middle-aged males are more likely to be addicted to prescription-only painkillers, and women are more likely to be addicted to over-the-counter medication.

The number of people being referred for treatment for substance misuse has risen sharply in the last 12 months, and the number of drug-related deaths is at a record high. It is therefore essential that we have the right policies in place in order to reduce the harms associated with substance misuse. UKIP welcomes the Welsh Government’s latest delivery plan, particularly the emphasis given to tackling co-occurring substance misuse and mental health issues. Mental health teams are reporting a rise in the numbers of patients taking new psychoactive substances, and NPS use is endemic in the prison population, where up to 90 per cent of prisoners have some form of mental health issue. There is a problem with the revolving door, and these issues don’t seem to be resolving as quickly as we’d like.

The decision by the UK Government to outlaw so-called legal highs is extremely welcome, but we must do more to advertise to the public the dangers of NPS. Cabinet Secretary, what is the Welsh Government doing to raise awareness about the harms associated with new psychoactive substances among the public? Your delivery plans involve training for staff, and, whilst this is welcome, we need to educate the public if we are to reverse the increasing use of NPS and its associated harms. We also need to work with the Ministry of Justice to tackle the influx of NPS in our prisons and ensure that we can deliver adequate mental health care for Welsh prisoners. We hope that the delivery of your substance misuse strategy matches its intentions, and we hope that the strategy will reverse the rise in substance misuse and that the number of drug-related deaths decreases. Thank you.