Leading homelessness charity St Mungo’s has welcomed the Government’s new drugs strategy which will see it commit £780m for drug treatment and recovery over the next 10 years.
According to ministers the new plan has three core priorities: breaking drug supply chains, delivering world-class treatment and recovery system, and achieving a shift in the demand for recreational drugs.
The announcement includes specific commitments to:
- continue to fund the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant for a further three years
- provide £53m of funding for a series of housing related support options for people experiencing issues with substance use
- build an evidence base relating to the housing need for people dependent on drugs and alcohol, and to identify the most effective intervention for them.
Of the total, £530m will be invested over the next three years in treatment and recovery, which is more than 70% of the £750 recommended by Dame Carol Black in her drugs review which St Mungo’s was part of.
St Mungo’s Chief Executive Steve Douglas CBE said: “This is a significant investment and long term commitment to providing treatment and support to people experiencing drug addiction.
“We are pleased that there is specific recognition in the strategy of the fact that homelessness and rough sleeping can be both a cause and a consequence of substance use which we experience everyday through our frontline work.
“We welcome the strategy, and the fact that it was drawn up with input from across Government.
“As we saw during Everyone In, and through the work of the Kerslake Commission, in order to effectively tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and its associated issues, when we work together – across Government and across sectors – we have the best chance of succeeding.”
