Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 1
1
Accepted
Evidence gathered from Home Office, DHSC, and key drug strategy stakeholders.
Conclusion
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care.2 We also took evidence from Dame Carol Black, author of the government’s independent review of drugs; Mike Trace, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Trust; Alice Wiseman, Vice President and Addictions Lead, Association of Directors of Public Health and Director of Public Health, Gateshead Council; and Mark Lay, National Drugs Coordinator, National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Government Response Summary
The government states its key achievements in combating drugs, including increased treatment places, county lines closures, improved prison leaver treatment, expanded drug testing, and increased substance-free units in prisons. It also notes ongoing evaluation and future planning for the next phase of the strategy.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. additional funding in April 2022. As of November 2023, the government’s key achievements include: • increasing the number of quality treatment places by nearly 19,000, with treatment places for young people increasing by 16%; • delivering the closure of 2,100 exploitative county lines, meeting the 3-year target in 18 months; • improving continuity of treatment for prison leavers to record levels of 51.8%. • expanding drug testing on arrest, with 38 forces accepting funding in 2023-24 meaning double the number of forces reporting its use; • increasing the number of prisons with Incentivised Substance-Free Living units to 68; and • improving the recovery offer including expanding the Individual Placement and Support Programme on employment to cover 52% of all local authorities. To build on this progress and continue delivering against our long-term outcomes, the Joint Combating Drugs Unit (JCDU) and departments – Home Office (HO), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and Department for Education (DfE) - are focused on developing a strong joint case for investment at the next spending review. Ongoing evaluation of projects and programmes is already in place, led by departments, while the JCDU has commissioned an evaluation of local and national delivery against the whole-system approach. Assessments from these evaluations will be complemented by analysis and tracking of outcomes in the National Combating Drugs Outcomes Framework and learning from evidence across wider programmes. This work will increase understanding of progress to date, the economic impact, and where the government may need to adjust its approach to enable it to achieve the 10-year ambition. On the basis of a comprehensive and agile response to assessing the evidence, JCDU and departments will work together to make an assessment on future ambitions and develop proposals for the next phase of the strategy. This will also include assessing wider factors, such as international evidence and the responsiveness of the strategy to combat emerging and new drugs.