Source · National Audit Office

Reducing the harm from illegal drugs

Published: 20 Oct 2023 Recommendations: 6 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 6 Department: Cross-government

Our report looks at whether the government is well positioned to achieve its drug strategy’s 10-year ambitions.

Dept: Cross-governmentDepartment of Health and Social CareHome Office Topics: Crime, justice and lawHealth and social carePolicingPublic health nao.org.uk →

Recommendations

6 items

5 accepted 1 partially accepted 3 implemented 3 in progress

Rec	Recommendation	Addressee	Acceptance	Implementation
1	The JCDU should work with departments to agree its role over the remainder of the 10-year strategy to ensure that roles and responsibilities are clear and its limited resources are directed in the most effective way. Ref Page 12, 20 (a) · Implemented 10/2025	Home Office	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO
2	The JCDU and departments should work with HM Treasury to agree what is achievable before the next Spending Review. They should determine how to realistically demonstrate the impact of funding in the first three years, considering the lag time before interventions affect outcome data, the time needed to set up and evaluate interventions and the difficulty of assessing localised responses in national metrics. They should consider more in-depth assessments of local authorities included in the first phase of funding allocations, comparing their progress against other areas. Ref Page 12, 20 (b) · Implemented 31/10/2025	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
3	The JCDU and departments should strengthen their approach to evaluating impacts and understanding ?what works? by: - developing and publishing a long-term evaluation plan, supported by sufficient resources, to develop a deeper understanding of the impacts of strategy funding; and - reviewing the extent to which the programme?s performance measures create perverse incentives for service delivery, and consider whether there is sufficient emphasis on quality of services and long-term recovery. Ref Page 13, 20 (c) · Implemented 31/12/2025	Home Office	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO
4	The JCDU and departments should maximise the impact of local partnerships by developing a deeper understanding of local variations, identifying innovative practice, areas that are lagging behind others and what is needed to strengthen responses. They should also consider how to engage other parts of government to develop a ?whole system? response, considering all of the factors that affect the demand for drugs and support effective recovery. Ref Page 13, 20 (d) · Implemented 10/2025	Home Office	Accepted	In progress ✓ NAO
5	The JCDU and departments should develop and publish a long-term plan to deliver the 10-year strategy. As part of planning for the next Spending Review, the JCDU and departments should assess how the next phase of the programme builds on the first three years and fixes the problems previously diagnosed by Dame Carol Black. The JCDU should use a theory of change to develop a compelling, evidence-based case for the long-term benefits and value for money of tackling the harms caused by illegal drug use to inform funding decisions at the next Spending Review. Ref Page 13, 20 (e) · Implemented 31/12/2025	Home Office	Accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO
6	The JCDU and departments should work with HM Treasury to provide greater certainty on future funding for the strategy. This includes: - exploring the potential for indicative commitments over the life of the strategy; and - DHSC identifying and resolving the reasons for delays in allocating funding to local authorities and streamlining its processes to provide as much time as possible to plan and commission new services after 2024-25. Ref Page 13, 20 (f) · Implemented 13/11/2023	Home Office	Partially accepted	Implemented ✓ NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.

9 Feb 2024 Public Accounts C… Eleventh Report - Reducing the harm from illegal drugs — 19 recommendations · parliament.uk