Belfast drug-testing pilot at festivals blocked by Stormont health department

A plan to introduce a drug-testing pilot at major gigs and festivals in Belfast has been effectively blocked by the Department of Health.

A motion passed unanimously by Belfast City Council earlier this year called for drug-testing and harm-reduction facilities to be explored at council-owned venues hosting music festivals and large-scale events.

The motion called on public bodies, including the Public Health Agency and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, alongside organisations in the community and voluntary sector, to examine the feasibility of a pilot scheme. It also requested an internal report on the council’s potential role in supporting and facilitating such a service, particularly in relation to legal and regulatory considerations.

However, a report presented to elected representatives at the June meeting of the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee stated that, following discussions with Stormont officials, it had become clear there is currently “no legislative framework, funding mechanism or operational model in place that would enable Belfast City Council to establish or directly deliver drug and pill-testing facilities at events”.

The Department of Health told the council that drug and pill-testing services involve “significant legal and regulatory considerations” under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and would require appropriate licences and approvals to possess, transport, analyse and dispose of controlled substances. The department said no formal application for such a licence has been received in Northern Ireland to date.

In Great Britain, such licences are issued by the Home Office. In Northern Ireland, responsibility would fall to the Department of Health’s Medicines Regulatory Group.

The Department of Health said any proposal would represent a “novel application” and would require detailed assessment and engagement before any licensing arrangements could be considered.

The council report stated:

“The Department of Health has advised that there is currently no central government funding programme available to support drug-testing facilities at festivals and events.

“Whilst examples of on-site testing facilities exist elsewhere in the United Kingdom, these are generally associated with large-scale or multi-day festivals and operate within differing legal and policy frameworks.

“The Department has further advised that the current Northern Ireland Substance Use Strategy, Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery, does not contain actions relating to the introduction of festival-based drug-testing services. Any future policy proposal to introduce such services would presumably require consideration at Executive level.”

The original motion, tabled by Alliance Councillor Micky Murray and seconded by Green Party Councillor Brian Smyth, stated:

“This council supports harm-reduction approaches to drug use, particularly in the context of festivals and nightlife events. It acknowledges the rising public concerns around drug-related harm and notes that traditional approaches focused solely on enforcement have not eliminated the presence or use of illicit substances at major events.”

At the June Strategic Policy and Resources Committee meeting, councillors voiced their disappointment at Stormont’s response.

Councillor Murray said:

“If the Department of Health isn’t going to take a leadership position to get this off the ground, then we need to, as the organisation that gives the licences for major festivals in the city. And a large part of it is on our land.

“I want to propose that instead of just waiting for someone else to do this, that we get together a roundtable of all the people that need to be involved.”

He proposed the council host a meeting involving all relevant bodies with a view to establishing a pathway towards securing a licence for a future pilot scheme.

Councillor Smyth said:

“I am really frustrated at this. The department’s approach is really typical of how harm reduction gets handled here.

“They are framing this as a policy vacuum rather than public safety. They are leaning heavily on the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, but the legislation applies across the UK. And yet we have drug-checking services that already operate in England and Wales.

“The law hasn’t changed. What has changed is interpretation, a willingness in leadership and licensing. There are organisations such as The Loop that operate legally at festivals using Home Office licences for analysis of controlled substances.”

He added:

“This isn’t some sort of legislative miracle that we need. It is more of a political and administrative choice. I have got to ask, is this coming directly from the Minister after his political party has taken a much more conservative approach to law and order?”

Councillor Smyth argued that drug-checking services should be viewed as part of wider event safety measures.

“As a council we already regulate for crowd safety, medical risk, fire provision and other issues, so drug checking should fit comfortably alongside these areas. It reduces hospitalisations, overdoses and deaths, and evidence shows it changes behaviour.

“At festivals in Great Britain where The Loop operates, a significant proportion of users have disposed of substances after testing flagged up risk. We already require promoters to mitigate foreseeable risks.

“Drug use at festivals is foreseeable, so ignoring that risk is not a neutral position; it is a failure in duty of care. There is a huge inconsistency in our current approach.”

He continued:

“The Department of Health says in the report that it supports amnesty bins, public-support messaging and forensic testing within a 48-hour turnaround. But it is rejecting on-site testing that informs users in the here and now.

“A 48-hour turnaround is absolutely useless in a festival that is live and ongoing. We are already accepting the presence of drugs through amnesty bins. The question is whether we accept reality to prevent harm in the here and now, or continue with measures that are knowingly too late to save lives.”

He added:

“The department is effectively saying there is no policy, so no funding. No funding, so there is no pilot. No pilot, so there is no evidence to create policy. I think this is a really dangerous cop-out.”

Councillor Smyth proposed that the council write to the Department of Health seeking a formal paper outlining what would be required to issue a licence in Northern Ireland for a pilot scheme in 2027. He also called for drug-testing services to be considered as part of the next update of the department’s 10-year Preventing Harm, Empowering Recovery strategy.

In addition, he proposed that Belfast City Council begin developing an operational model that could be implemented should licensing arrangements become available.

The committee agreed proposals put forward by both councillors, along with additional suggestions from other elected representatives, including consideration of international best practice and the potential for cross-border cooperation with the Republic of Ireland.

The committee’s decision will now go before the full council for ratification next week.