Recommendation 87

Chief Probation Officer Kim Thornden-Edwards told us about “a new national partnership agreement on health and social care”, agreed in February 2023. This new partnership, between the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care, “funds some dedicated criminal justice-focused staff, who will work across police custody, courts, probation and prison to improve those treatment pathways” and “creates over 54,000 new substance misuse treatment places”. 169 This corresponds to a commitment, in the 10-year drug strategy, that 54,000 more people will receive treatment in the three years between April 2022 and April 2025 than would otherwise have been the case, a 19% increase from previous capacity. 170 This new partnership also involves “NHS England rolling out primary care mental health treatment requirements for offenders who are at a lower level of mental health needs.” 171