Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
JCDU lacks adequate evaluation capacity to demonstrate strategy impact for future funding.
Recommendation
We raised concerns that government would not be able to make a compelling case for continued funding at the next Spending Review. The JCDU and departments need to demonstrate to HM Treasury the impact of the £900 million of funding during the first three years of the strategy. However, Dame Carol highlighted the need to strengthen the approach to evaluation, highlighting the lack of resources in the JCDU.16 The NAO’s report also found that the JCDU lacked adequate evaluation capacity.17 The JCDU told us that the NAO’s recommendations on evaluation were being used to shape the thinking on its approach to evaluation, and that an additional £1 million in funding had been allocated by HM Treasury to assess the impact of local drug partnerships.18
Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation, stating that ongoing evaluations and commissioned studies are in place to build an evidence base on progress and economic impact, which will inform future investment proposals and strategy adjustments by the end of 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: by the end of 2024 1.2 There has been significant progress in delivering the Drug Strategy since the start of 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. 1.3 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. 1.4 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.