As part of yesterday’s Comprehensive Spending Review announcement by the Treasury, a new Public Service Agreement (PSA) has been published explicitly setting out the government’s objective to reduce the harms caused to individuals and communities by the misuse of drugs and alcohol.
HM Treasury has published a document entitled PSA Delivery Agreement 25: Reduce the harm caused by alcohol and drugs that sets out the aims and objectives of the agreement.
The document states that the government’s vision is “to produce a long-term and sustainable reduction in the harms associated with alcohol and drugs”. The actions of the PSA will be underpinned by the existing alcohol strategy and by the future drug strategy, currently out for consultation with publication set for early next year.
The PSA document also establishes the indicators that will measure progress in reducing alcohol- and drug-related harm. The main indicators will be:
- the number of drug users recorded as being in effective treatment;
- the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions;
- the rate of drug-related offending;
- the percentage of the public who perceive drug use or dealing or drunk and rowdy behaviour to be a problem in their area.
Responding to the publication of the PSA, Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, said:
“We welcome the commitment to tackling the harms caused by both drugs and alcohol that is evident from this Public Service Agreement. Recognising that the PSA sets out a framework for the implementation of the next drug strategy, we look forward to the publication of this important document, expected early in 2008.”
For more information please contact Ruth Goldsmith in the DrugScope Press Office on 020 7940 7517 (07736 895563 out of hours) or at press@drugscope.org.uk
