Drug Addiction Support

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:17 pm on 24 January 2023.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 2:17, 24 January 2023

Well, Llywydd, I begin by paying tribute to the work that goes on at Brynawel—a project that unites people across this Chamber in the work that's been invested in making it a success. The approach we've taken in Wales is a harm-reduction approach, one that recognises the pressures that exist and that propel people into these difficulties, and thinks of substance misuse as a public health issue, not one that is solely related to criminal justice. The partnership approach is absolutely fundamental to that, and so is using new opportunities as they come our way.

When I chaired the policing board for Wales last, we were joined by the then policing Minister at the UK Government, Kit Malthouse, and we discussed the way in which, in Wales, we have led the way in making available a new form of treatment, buvidal. Over 1,200 service users across Wales are now benefiting from that form of treatment, with 172 in the Swansea bay area. Kit Malthouse said at that meeting that the investment that Wales is making in that new and innovative treatment is leading the way across the whole of the United Kingdom. So, it's a combination, isn't it, of using our strengths, the partnerships we have on the ground, while at the same time being willing to invest in new opportunities that can do good in the lives of people who otherwise have experienced such significant harm.