Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Paragraph: 16
Balance criminal justice response to drugs with increased public health initiatives.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Government balances its criminal justice response to drugs with an increased public health response that seeks to prevent and treat drug use and tackle the root causes of drug use through, for example, a broad range of harm reduction approaches.
Government Response Summary
The government claims its current legislative framework and Drug Strategy already provide a balanced public health and criminal justice response, supported by significant investment and existing initiatives to prevent, treat, and reduce drug-related harms.
Paragraph Reference:
16
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The UK Government’s legislative framework and strategy are already delivering a balanced approach which combines a range of public health and criminal justice responses. The Drug Strategy sets out our commitment that the government and our public services will continue to work together and share responsibility for creating a safer, healthier and more productive society. It is backed by increased funding across the system, including nearly £900 million of additional investment over 2022–2025, of which the largest amount, £780 million, is dedicated additional funding for the treatment and recovery system. Established in 2021, the cross-government Joint Combating Drugs Unit supports government departments in driving forward a range of coordinated activities across health, enforcement, criminal justice, education, employment and housing to support the three strategic priorities in the Drug Strategy. A Combating Drugs Minister oversees this and was introduced in 2021 in line with the 10-year strategy. Delivering a world-class treatment and recovery system is one of the three key strategic priorities in the Drug Strategy. We have already made progress by increasing and improving the treatment workforce, implementing measures in the criminal justice system and increasing pathways into treatment in the criminal justice system. This has included increasing the drug and alcohol workforce by 1,670 additional staff and launching a ground-breaking addiction mission to enhance the development of new technologies to prevent deaths and combat addiction. We have doubled the number of Incentivised Substance Free Living units in prisons and increased the number of referrals to treatment from the criminal justice system by 8%. The Government also continues to support a range of evidence-based approaches to reduce the health-related harms of drug misuse, such as maintaining the availability of needle and syringe programmes to prevent blood borne infections, widening the availability of naloxone to prevent overdose deaths and the rollout of the novel opioid treatment, depot buprenorphine. Alongside national action, local partners have a critical role to play by creating the right conditions for local leaders to also develop multi-agency partnerships and deliver coordinated action on treatment, recovery, prevention and enforcement, and all areas in England have formed Combating Drugs Partnerships to manage this. Each partnership has nominated a Senior Responsible Owner to represent and account for local delivery and performance to central government. These individuals are the key local point of contact for central government and these include Police and Crime Commissioners and Directors of Public Health.