Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:20 pm on 1 November 2016.
May I ask for a statement from the Cabinet Secretary for health on the Welsh Government policy towards setting up fix rooms for drug addicts in Wales? Concerns have been expressed to me, and I have personally witnessed discarded needles in school playing areas, parks and other places where people walk around a lot. Only last week, I went to a house that was burgled, and the burglar very conveniently used that building for the use of drugs. Last year, pre-elections, when we were just cleaning, some of us, in Newport’s Pill area, there were some needles behind the primary school, in a park. Minister, that is not acceptable in this modern Wales.
A plan to set up the UK’s first fix room to allow drug addicts to inject safely under supervision is likely to get the go-ahead in Glasgow, Scotland. This move is designed to address the problems caused by the estimated 500 addicts injecting on Glasgow’s streets. Could we have a statement, please, on whether the Welsh Government intends to introduce a similar project in Wales? Secondly, can we have, as soon as possible, a debate in this Chamber on an illegal drugs-free Wales? Thank you very much.