LEWIS ATKINSON, MP for Sunderland Central: I was an NHS manager in 2007 and the National Treatment Agency( NTA) focused us on targets. For too many years we had ideology instead of an evidence base – and despite Dame Carol Black’ s report, we are still seeing the consequences of those mistakes.

We have a system under enormous strain. Budgets can’ t be confirmed and we can’ t plan for continuity. Drug-related deaths are a result of policy choices. Addressing this must be an act of partnership and your input is crucial.

Our role as policymakers is to listen to you. I know that drug treatment works, but it means getting coherent policy across government. For a new minister the drugs brief can be overwhelming.

The drug sector has struggled to speak with a clear and unified voice. How do you build policy consensus across the sector? Be clear about what you need from policy. Invite MPs to visit. Be

politely persistent. I want to see drug treatment as a public health issue, not a moral failing.

FROM HARM TO HOPE – WHERE ARE WE NOW?

JOY ALLEN, PCC for Durham and APCC joint lead for substance misuse: Addiction is one of the biggest drivers of crime, ill health, and human misery. Behind the statistics is despair. Families are torn apart and communities are living in fear. Prevention is really important for us. The system is under unbearable pressure, especially prison and probation. Treatment and not punishment should be at the heart, and strategy needs to be re-energised after a decade of disinvestment.

Progress is hard-won and fragile, and recruitment and retention have lagged behind ambition. Do we have the cour age to go further than From harm to hope? We need a mini ster for

drugs – someone who appreciates the impact. And if something’ s working better else where, we need to learn from that.

DR LINDA HARRIS, chief executive, Spectrum CIC: We’ re witnessing a growing appetite for transformation – strength-based recovery. I no longer think of this as a clinical framework but more of a movement. We’ ve got to come together and co-design minimum standards, measuring impact to make sure it’ s truly recovery orientated. We need strategic buy-in to get these into a commissioning framework and create a national model with courageous leadership.

We saw shared care go to the next level before the carpet was pulled from under us. We’ ve got to have skilled practitioners and investment in skills and workforce – minimum standards, including training the primary care workforce. We need to grow the basic competencies – the‘ Orange Book’ was brilliant but will need a

‘ We saw shared care go to the next level before the carpet was pulled from under us.’

DR LINDA HARRIS

refresh. We’ ve just opened the lid on prescribed meds – pregabalin and so on. The agenda is so huge.

NIC ADAMSON, deputy chief executive, Change Grow Live: We should celebrate the collaboration in the sector, the dedication of the workforce, and the deep-rooted nature

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