Conclusions and recommendations
1. The Government spends £1.2 billion
a year on measures aimed at tackling problem drug use, yet does
not know what overall effect this spending is having.
We welcome the Department's commitment to evaluating this spending.
From 2011, the Department should publish annual reports on progress
against the strategy's action plan. These should set out expenditure
on each measure, the outputs and outcomes delivered, and progress
towards targets.
2. Around one-quarter of problem drug users
are hard-core offenders who resist measures to reduce their offending
or 'drop out' of drug treatment. The Department's
action plan should set out specific measures directly aimed at
driving down offending by hard-core problem drug users for whom
the Drug Interventions Programme and drug treatment does not work.
3. Problem drug users typically relapse several
times into further drug use and offending during and after drug
treatment. The Department should introduce
evidence-based measures to reduce the risk of relapse into drug
use and offending. It should identify and implement support measures
to enable people to reintegrate into their home environments while
resisting temptations and pressures to return to drug use and
offending.
4. Despite local authorities spending £30
million on housing support for problem drug users in 2008-09,
up to 100,000 drug users in England continue to have a housing
problem. While accommodating drug users
is concerning to those living nearby, evidence shows that by providing
them with stable accommodation as part of their rehabilitation
programme they are more likely to stop offending. However, there
is currently no evidence on the effectiveness of the different
measures being used to accommodate problem drug users. It is important
that evidence is obtained quickly to establish which housing measures
are most effective.
5. Some problem drug users quickly relapse
into drug use and reoffending when released from prison.
In some intensive Drug Interventions Programme areas, drug key
workers meet up to 80% of those prisoners who have received drug
treatment in prison at the prison gate to escort them directly
to community and treatment services. The strategy should evaluate
the impact of this approach in reducing relapse and reoffending
rates and the costs and benefits of applying this more widely.
6. Measures to reduce problem drug use by
young people have had limited impact.
The Department should include reliable and consistent estimates
of the number of new young problem drug users each year in its
annual report on progress against the strategy. It should evaluate
the effectiveness of measures aimed at reducing problem drug use
by young people, including long-term residential care services,
and should set targets to bring down the overall number of problem
drug users, over time.
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