Drug consumption rooms should be piloted in an effort to reduce the record number of drug-related deaths in the UK, the Labour party has said.

DCRs are supervised medical facilities present in seven European countries where drug addicts can take illicitly obtained heroin and cocaine safely, as well as being directed to social, health and recovery services. There have been no recorded deaths in a DCR.

Calls for their introduction have grown following sustained increases in drug-related deaths, with 4,678 people dying in Britain in 2017.

The government has faced criticism for cutting funding for addiction services while pursuing a criminal justice approach to drug use at a time when other countries are increasingly adopting public health approaches. In Portugal, the decriminalisation of drug use caused a steep fall in the drug death rate, which now stands at one-10th of that of the UK.

Carolyn Harris, Labour’s drugs policy spokeswoman, said: “We need to be brave and support drug addicts and misusers into recovery, but the current approach stifles progress.

“Drug consumption rooms take people off the streets and to somewhere they can be engaged in treatment to try to help them with their addictions.

“The government’s ideological approach to drugs since they took office in 2010 has been plagued with irresponsible cuts that have seen the UK become the drug overdose capital of Europe. It is time to consider all of the options based on what is most effective to reduce harm.

“I believe the government is being overcautious in not considering DCRs as a way to protect us all from the harms of public drug use, and we support pilot schemes to ensure we have sufficient evidence for any future approach.”

There were 934 drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2017 and members of the Scottish parliament have voted to introduce a DCR in Glasgow to address spiralling deaths, rising HIV levels and common street using in the city.

However, the Home Office blocked the proposal, citing fears over the implied acceptance of criminality despite acknowledging the potential public health benefits of DCRs, also known as overdose prevention centres.

Labour’s campaign for drug policy reform announced on Monday that a series of public meetings will be held around the country, including in Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool and Swansea, to provide a forum for members to debate and influence party policy.

Harris welcomed the new campaign, co-founded by the MPs Jeff Smith and Thangam Debbonaire, saying it represented how the party is moving towards an evidence-based approach on drug policy.

“There are ways we can do things differently within existing legislation, such as drug safety testing, and it is good that party activists want to get involved in debating how Labour policy on drugs can better serve the people we seek to represent,” she said.

The campaign’s expert working group, which includes the former lord chancellor Charles Falconer and Prof Fiona Measham, the founder of the UK drug testing service, will use the public meetings to inform a set of recommendations the group will present to the shadow cabinet for consideration.

Debbonaire, the MP for Bristol West, said: “This campaign is about opening up the debates on drug policy to all Labour members and supporters, and the people we aim to serve.”

The Sunday Times reported that at least 10 chief constables would support plans to open DCRs in their areas. Jason Harwin, the drugs spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, told the paper: “There is no way police are going to ever stop addicts buying from dealers. This is about reducing harm to drug users and the public by stopping drug taking in open spaces in communities.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “There is no legal framework for the provision of drug consumption rooms in the UK and we have no plans to introduce them.

“This government’s position on drugs remains clear – we must prevent drug use in our communities and support people dependent on drugs through treatment and recovery.”

Sefton and Bristol councils are both conducting feasibility studies on DCRs. Heroin-assisted treatment rooms, where diamorphine is prescribed for the treatment of heroin addiction, are set to open in Glasgow and Middlesbrough later this year.