FOI ref: FOI-2023-1395
You asked
I am writing to request drug misuse rates for 2018-2023 (specifically for Cannabis, Cocaine, Crack Cocaine, Ketamine, Alcohol, LSD, Magic Mushrooms) indexed separately for the UK as a whole, as well as the cities of Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast, Cardiff, Leeds, Bristol, Sheffield and London (the whole of London) as well as London indexed by borough (to particularly include Southwark and Lambeth, as well as all other London boroughs if possible, but if not to include at least two boroughs from West/North and East London in addition to Southwark and Lambeth). If it is not possible to do this for all drugs, I would be grateful if you could do it most importantly for Cannabis, and second most importantly for Alcohol and Cocaine. If not possible, any data you have for substance use disorder rates which include Southwark and Lambeth as distinct sites, or at least South London, I would be grateful for. In addition to substance use disorder data.
I would be grateful if you could provide any data you have on the following topics indexed separately for the aforementioned locations for the years 2018-2023:
- Socio-economic status
- Immigration
- Income
- Education
- Domestic Violence
- Deaths from substances (indexed by whichever substances you have available)
In fact, in addition to the drugs mentioned, if it is not too difficult for you, I would be grateful for you to provide the specified data for all the drugs that you have data for. Additionally, if you can include all cities you have the above mentioned data for that would be useful. I only put specific cities so that it may be easier for you in the extraction, but if you are able to extract the data for all cities in the UK then that would be most beneficial.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Drug Misuse rates by city/region/London borough and domestic violence
We hold data for part of the information you have requested.
We produce drug misuse statistics for England and Wales based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). We publish these statistics in our Drug Misuse in England and Wales bulletin and accompanying tables which may be of use to you.
Estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) on the prevalence of any drug use in the last year, as well as the specific drug types you have mentioned (cannabis, cocaine, crack cocaine, ketamine, LSD and magic mushrooms), for people aged 16 to 59 years old in the years ending March 2018, March 2019, March 2020 and the year ending June 2022 are available in Table 1.05 in the accompanying tables. We do not hold data for Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The CSEW was designed to measure the extent and nature of crime at a national level and it is limited in what estimates it can provide at lower geographies. However, we do publish drug misuse statistics at the regional level, as well as by a range of demographic characteristics (including country of birth), socioeconomic indicators (including household income and educational attainment) and experience of crime. We do not publish estimates of drug misuse by experience of specific crime types, such as domestic violence. Estimates for any drug use, cannabis and any class A drug broken down by these characteristics can be found in Tables 3.01 and 3.02 in the accompanying tables. The year ending June 2022 dataset was limited by a smaller survey sample size than usual but estimates for the individual drug types, cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, amphetamines and ketamine, with these breakdowns are available in Tables 3.01 and 3.02 in the year ending March 2020 dataset. Estimates at lower geographies than region are not available.
Data for the year ending March 2021 and year ending March 2021 are not available because of a pause in face-to-face interviewing for the CSEW during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Data for the year ending March 2023 is provisionally scheduled for release on 14 December 2023.
While we do not produce estimates of drug misuse in association with domestic violence, we do produce separate estimates of domestic abuse from data collected in our Crime Survey for England and Wales, which are available for the years listed as your period of interest.
If you have any crime-related queries in the future, please contact us at crimestatistics@ons.gov.uk
Socio-Economic Status, Immigration, Education
In April we launched the following service: 'Create a custom dataset'. This enables users to find and download multiple combinations of Census 2021 data they are most interested in and for the areas they are interested in. Socio-economic status (NS-SEC) and education (highest level of qualification) are available within the create a custom dataset tool. The tool enables you to choose the areas you want.
However, in Census terms, cities do not have statutory boundaries so ONS constructs tables for built-up areas (previously known as 'urban areas') to cover the built-up places people recognise as 'villages, towns' and 'cities'. The name has changed to 'Built-up areas' to help avoid previous inconsistency in terminology with the rural-urban definition and provide a name that more accurately describes the geography. Data for built-up areas is not available in the create a custom dataset tool. However, data for Local Authorities is readily available.
Lower Tier Local Authority Areas (LTLA)
Lower tier local authorities provide a range of local services. In England there are 309 lower tier local authorities. These are made up of non-metropolitan districts (181), unitary authorities (59), metropolitan districts (36) and London boroughs (33, including City of London). In Wales there are 22 local authorities made up of 22 unitary authorities. Of these local authority types, only non-metropolitan districts are not additionally classified as upper tier local authorities.
Upper Tier Local Authority Areas (UTLA)
Upper tier local authorities provide a range of local services. In England there are 152 upper tier local authorities. These are made up of unitary authorities (59), metropolitan districts (36), London boroughs (33, including City of London) and counties (24). In Wales there are 22 upper tier local authorities, these are made up of 22 unitary authorities. Of these local authority types, only counties are not additionally classified as lower tier local authorities.
Immigration is not collected specifically in the census but variables on country of birth, age of arrival and length of residence in the UK are all included in the tool. You may also find the following link useful: International migration
The Home Office releases quarterly statistics which may also be useful: Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release
Instructions on how to access the create a custom dataset tool are attached. Should you require further guidance census.customerservices@ons.gov.uk can advise.
We are only responsible for the census for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland carry out their own census. Although the UK censuses historically take place on the same day they are run separately by each National Statistics Office (Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA), National Records of Scotland (NRS), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for both England and Wales). Scotland's census was delayed until 2022. Contact details are provided below.
National Records of Scotland (NRS)
Tel: 0131 3144299
Email: statisticscustomerservices@nrscotland.gov.uk
Website: www.nrscotland.gov.uk
Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA)
Tel: 02890 255156
Email: census@nisra.gov.uk
Website: http://www.nisra.gov.uk/census
Income:
Our most recent publication of Small Area Income Estimates can be found here Income estimates for small areas, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). We are currently working on an update for this analysis for the financial year ending 2020 and planning to publish this on 11 October 2023.
You may also find the following report useful: Regional Gross Disposable Household Income
Deaths from substances:
We publish statistics on the number of deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales. These statistics are sourced from the information collected when a death is registered. The majority of deaths related to drug poisoning are registered following a coroner's inquest and the text on the coroner's death certificate is used to code all of the substances involved in the death. Statistics on the number of deaths where selected substances were mentioned anywhere on the death certificate are also available.