DRUG POLICY
STEP CHANGE
F or substance use treatment in England, 2021 was a landmark year. Not only did we receive the brutally honest part two of Dame Carol Black’ s Independent review of drugs, but we saw the Conservative government grasp the nettle and publish a strategy just a few months later.
This set out clear priorities and ambitions, as well as structures and processes for how these would be delivered and measured. Crucially, there was also renewed investment. The results were clear to see. There are now more people in substance use treatment than ever before, and the continuity of care between prison and community has vastly improved.
Of course there’ s still much to do, and things we could have done better over the past four years, but where Dame Carol saw services‘ on their knees’, we’ ve begun the task of rebuilding a treatment system that the country can be proud of. Yet more than 18 months into the current government’ s tenure, there remains a lack of clarity in how their‘ missions’ will be achieved, and the role of substance use treatment in this work.
The situation couldn’ t be any more urgent. We’ re seeing the highest rates of drug-related deaths ever recorded and the emergence of synthetic opioids has prompted the National Crime Agency to warn that‘ there has never been a more dangerous
There are five essential next steps for the government when it comes to action on alcohol and other drugs, says Will Haydock
time to take drugs’.
Collective Voice has therefore outlined five key steps that the government should take in relation to treatment and recovery services in England.
1. The government should publish a position statement on drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. We need clear and shared objectives for all relevant departments and organisations – and political leadership to ensure these are taken seriously across the board.
2. The government must restore the five-year programme of investment recommended by Dame Carol Black. The current funding is only around year-three levels as proposed in her review. Funding must be ringfenced and protected against inflation and other cost pressures.
3. Residential treatment must be an accessible option across the country. The current system of funding and procurement isn’ t working – it’ s an inefficient postcode lottery. Again, we have a blueprint already laid out by Dame Carol – regional or subregional commissioning. The government should convene an expert working group bringing together commissioners, residential and community providers, and people with lived and living experience to agree an approach that ensures the accessibility and sustainability of this evidence-based treatment intervention.
4. The government should commission substance use services in prison directly with the provider, separately from other health services, through a partnership including local authorities and prison governors as well as healthcare. This echoes a series of independent reports, including by Dame Carol Black, the Justice Select Committee, and the National Audit Office.
5. The government should develop a detailed and fullyresourced plan to deliver the recommendations of the Independent sentencing review. Modest investment would ensure more people can be supported in the community, which would provide rapid and sustained returns through reducing reoffending, and relieving pressure on prisons.
These are not the only steps that government should take, and they don’ t cover every issue that’ s important to our members. We call for a position statement, for example, but haven’ t got space to list everything that should be in it – though on the detail, we’ ve already outlined proposals on harm reduction, and have given HM Treasury a whole list of projects that could deliver significant impact, often at low or no cost.
And we’ re not just waiting for government. Collective Voice exists to improve practice as well
As Dame Carol Black explained back in 2021,‘ government faces an unavoidable choice: invest in tackling the problem or keep paying for the consequences’.
as policy, and we’ ll continue to work across the field to support this, as we have in recent months on issues including ketamine and residential treatment. Please get in touch if you want to be involved, or have ideas on what we should focus on next.
But government must play its part too. As Dame Carol Black explained back in 2021,‘ government faces an unavoidable choice: invest in tackling the problem or keep paying for the consequences’. This is an urgent call for the current government to make the right choice and tackle the problems related to alcohol and other drugs head on.
Email will @ collectivevoice. org. uk Will Haydock is chief executive of Collective Voice. See blog and resources at www. collectivevoice. org. uk
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