John Penrose

Conservative Party | Weston-super-Mare

MP to Lobby Drug Chiefs

Local MP John Penrose is to meet with senior executives from the National Treatment Agency (NTA), the Government's drug watchdog, at the end of the month to discuss the National Drugs Strategy, due to be published next spring. Also at the meeting will be representatives of the Avon and Somerset Police and the local Drug Action Team.

The strategy, which will run until 2011, aims to pull together separate government initiatives on drug misuse, treatment and harm minimisation.

But the Weston-super-Mare MP has deep reservations that the strategy has overlooked some fundamental points on the care that is provided to recovering drug addicts. Mr Penrose said:

“I’m glad that there is going to be a new drugs strategy to replace the current one which was last updated back in 2002. But I’m worried that the new version won't deal with the problems we're facing here in Weston.

“As the Responsible Authorities Group report published last year illustrates, the major problem in Weston is that addicts are referred to rehabs from all over the country and are simply abandoned.

“The authorities which refer them, whether probation services, health trusts or social services, often fail to inform local agencies that they're sending an addict for treatment in Weston, fail to check that the treatment is progressing satisfactorily and then fail to take any appropriate steps to continue an addict’s care when they complete the Weston stage of their recovery, even if they have relapsed and have been expelled from their treatment programme.

“This situation has to be resolved. We need the people who send addicts to Weston to take responsibility for the whole of their care, not just the first couple of steps before abandoning them here. That's why I've asked the NTA to come to Weston and see for themselves.”