Reviewing progress on the national drugs plan
People with untreated drug and alcohol dependencies have a disproportionate impact on our communities.
In a typical English secondary school, 40 pupils will be living with a parent with a drug or alcohol problem.
About one in six ‘child in need’ assessments carried out by local authorities last year recorded parental alcohol problems, with a similar proportion for drug use.
Problem parental alcohol or drug use was also recorded in more than a third of serious case reviews where a child died or was seriously harmed.
Almost half of homicides every year are drug-related, and, in almost a fifth, the suspect is under the influence of alcohol, while nearly half of ‘acquisitive’ crime – such as shoplifting, theft, burglary and robbery – is drug-related.
It remains a stark fact that more people die from drug misuse every year than from all knife crime and road traffic incidents combined.
Local authorities commission drug and alcohol treatment services through the public health grant.
It is a condition of this government grant that they improve the take-up of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol misuse treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan that has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners.
“Leadership of local authorities in this important agenda is crucial to success”
These services, working in partnership with other local services, can and do help thousands of people to stabilise and turn their lives around every year – reducing the risks to the individuals concerned, their families and the wider community, and the burden on a range of other local services.
Every pound spent on drug treatment saves £21 over 10 years.
Three years ago, ‘From harm to hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ – a cross-departmental government strategy – was published.
Both the strategy and the funding that accompanied it were welcomed, especially after years of reductions to the public health grant.
Underpinning the strategy is the important principle that combating drug use and harm is a priority for all relevant organisations, working as a single team.
At national level, a ‘combating drugs minister’ was appointed and a cross-government central unit has been established.
Mirroring this at local level has been the creation of ‘combating drug partnerships’, each with a local ‘senior responsible owner’.
In our latest LGA publication, 10 councils tell us about their journeys to date, their successes as well as challenges. Common themes emerge, but also interesting differences.
Most heartening is the evidence of local commitment and innovation.
The engagement and leadership of local authorities in this important agenda is crucial to success, and the report highlights key issues and interesting proposals.
As elected members, we are ideally placed to champion this investment into reducing drug and alcohol harm in our areas, by engaging the community and collaborating with officers.
Your understanding of local communities enables you to work effectively with officers to ensure that the existing and new funding is applied to meet the needs of local people.
This will be vital in achieving the ambition to radically reduce the harms that drugs and alcohol cause.
The provision of active involvement and ongoing and visible support will send a clear signal that tackling drug and alcohol problems is a priority for the local area.
The commitment and support of members will also help to ensure that sufficient time and resource will be available to maintain momentum.
- The LGA’s report, ‘Two years on: a progress review of “From harm to hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives”’, will be published soon at the LGA website. See the Government’s drugs plan