Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Agree and routinely publish metrics measuring end-to-end success in treating offender substance misuse.
Conclusion
We are concerned that government is not doing enough to support prisoners with substance misuse needs before they are released. Despite the previous Committee’s recommendations in 2017, HMPPS and NHS England have been slow to improve the collection and sharing of prison leavers’ data, limiting their ability to provide appropriate support and monitor outcomes. This lack of progress puts the successful resettlement of offenders with substance misuse needs at risk. HMPPS is working on ways to improve data sharing around substance misuse through initiatives such as the Probation Notification Actioning Plan, which will enable drug treatment providers in prisons to notify the Probation Service of referrals they have made to providers in the community. However, support in prisons still lacks consistency, with treatment options often dependent on the length of prison stay. We are concerned that HMPPS and the relevant health bodies involved in resettlement do not seem to have a consistent definition of success when measuring outcomes for substance misuse. Substance misuse is also the only area where the Cross-Government Reducing Reoffending Board has not agreed key responsibilities or performance reporting arrangements. Recommendation 2: The Cross-Government Reducing Reoffending Board should agree metrics to measure end-to-end success in treating substance misuse needs in offenders and routinely publish how it is performing against these metrics. 6 Resettlement support for prison leavers
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and states MoJ and DHSC will develop a proposal for metrics to measure end-to-end success in treating substance misuse, which will be agreed by the Cross-Government Reducing Reoffending Board and published routinely.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. all stages of the criminal justice system to reduce reoffending. The National Combatting Drugs Outcomes Framework sets out the key metrics that the government is using to measure success, but acknowledges there is more that can be done to clearly define success and how this links to wider resettlement outcomes. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Department for Health and Social Care will develop a proposal, including highlighting any critical gaps in current metrics and subsequent plans to fill them, to be reported through the established cross-government drugs governance and agreed by the Cross-Government Reducing Reoffending Board. The government will publish these metrics routinely, through existing publications such as the Drugs Strategy Annual Report.