Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 17
17
Accepted
Variations in local drug treatment funding and services hinder access for many in need.
Conclusion
DHSC has allocated strategy funding for drug treatment and recovery to local authorities on a phased basis over three years, with the areas suffering greatest harm receiving priority.52 Mr Trace told us there is no national system, with variations in the availability and quality of services, particularly in areas such as criminal justice diversion schemes.53 The NAO report showed wide variations across local areas on the number of people in treatment, with 98 out of 150 unitary authorities in England having 48% or more of the people who used opiates and/or crack cocaine not in treatment.54 Evidence from Changing Lives also highlighted concerns that every area was expected to be performing to the same level, despite some having less time to use additional new funding.55
Government Response Summary
The government agreed with the committee's observation on variations, detailing actions to support local areas including an evaluation of the whole-system approach, dissemination of good practice, targeted work with 19 local authorities to develop improvement plans, and the rollout of an "Unmet Need Toolkit."
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: March 2025 4.2 The JCDU gave local areas the flexibility they need to shape their Combating Drugs Partnerships, reflecting their varying levels of maturity and local need. A Shared Outcomes Fund evaluation, now underway, will improve the government’s understanding of how the whole-system approach is being delivered locally. 4.3 The JCDU disseminates good practice regularly, including through new guidance, webinars, regional/sector specific events, and an online forum for Combating Drugs Partnerships to support networking and improvements in local delivery. This has increased the sharing of practice with several local areas specifically collaborating to improve their Drug and Alcohol Related Death processes. 4.4 DHSC is undertaking targeted work with the 19 local authority areas identified as having the greatest need to improve outcomes, including agreeing tailored performance improvement plans. For example, London, as the poorest performing region on continuity of care between prison and community treatment, is being supported with a focused action plan. 4.5 DHSC also continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug misuse deaths and to drive improvements in continuity of care. This includes the recently rolled out Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess gaps in referral pathways. 4.6 HM Prison and Probation Service is supporting local areas to improve join up, including through recruitment of Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators nationwide and Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons, as well as through rollout of the Probation Notification and Actioning Project, helping probation support attendance at treatment. 4.7 JCDU and departments will continue to engage with local partners to oversee delivery, including through regular meetings with the Association of Directors of Public Health lead for drugs and alcohol, local authority commissioners, and providers. This dialogue, along with DHSC’s extensive impact evaluations, helps ensure departments understand how the metrics set out in the Drug Strategy shape delivery and performance across key pathways.