Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 6
Eleventh Report - Reducing the harm from illegal drugs
Published 9 Feb 2024
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Reducing the harm from illegal drugs All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Despite previous attempts to reduce the demand for illegal drugs, the JCDU and departments still do not understand how to change behaviours and prevent people from taking drugs. Reducing the demand for illegal drugs is crucial to mitigating the harms caused by their supply. Effective prevention can also represent better value for money than an enforcement-led approach, as it avoids future economic and social costs. However, drug use has shown no reduction in the last 10 years, with some 3 million people taking drugs each year. The government has attempted to reduce the demand for drugs in previous strategies but, despite this, the JCDU and Home Office still do not have an evidence base from which to develop effective interventions. It is striking that just £300,000—0.03% of strategy funding—has been committed to research drivers of increasing drug use among children and younger people. Preventing vulnerable people from taking drugs requires a holistic, cross- cutting response and long-term interventions must consider wider socio-economic factors. Vulnerability to illegal drug is often linked to trauma and wider social issues such as deprivation and, as we have reported previously, there is a well-established relationship between substance misuse and mental health. Recommendation 6: As a matter of urgency, the JCDU should co-ordinate work to develop an evidence-based plan for achieving the strategy’s aim of reducing demand for illegal drugs to a 30-year low. It should draw research together to provide a compelling evidence base, understand the impact of local initiatives and work with other departments to build on related government strategies (e.g. deprivation, vulnerable families, mental health, homelessness etc). 8 Reducing the harm from illegal drugs 1 Implementing the government drug strategy Introduction
From: Public Accounts Committee, Eleventh Report - Reducing the harm from illegal drugs (HC 72), 9 February 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 2 April 2024.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the Committee's recommendation on each of the six conclusions, giving target implementation dates of the end of 2024, March 2025 or April 2025, and describing one as already implemented.
- On sustained investment, the government agrees, and says the Joint Combating Drugs Unit and departments are "focused on developing a strong joint case for investment" at the next spending review, with a target date of the end of 2024.
- On funding certainty for local authorities, the government agrees and lists the recommendation as implemented. It says it "will give as much notice as is feasible" of future allocations, and published 2024-25 Public Health Grant allocations on 5 February 2024.
- On variations in local outcomes, the government agrees, with a target of March 2025. It cites targeted work by DHSC with 19 local authority areas, including "tailored performance improvement plans", and ongoing evaluation of local delivery.
- On reducing demand, the government agrees, with a target of April 2025. It "recognises there is more to do" and says work is underway to bring together the evidence, including a new cross-government innovation fund.