The UK Government 10 year Stratergy on Drugs

[mickenator]

 

• 1Drug strategy overview
  • 1.1Key policies
  • 1.2Developing the strategy
  • 1.3Delivering the strategy
  • 1.4Partnerships with other government departments

[top]Drug strategy overview

The ten-year drug strategy (2008-2018) aims to restrict the supply of illegal drugs and reduce the demand for them. It focuses on protecting families and strengthening communities.
The four strands of work within the strategy are:

• protecting communities through tackling drug supply, drug-related crime and anti-social behaviour
• preventing harm to children, young people and families affected by drug misuse
• delivering new approaches to drug treatment and social re-integration
• public information campaigns, communications and community engagement

Key documents

• 'Drugs: protecting families and communities' - 2008-2018 strategy
• Action plan 2008-2011
• Public information leaflet

Please note that the hard copy of the drug strategy includes a copy of the action plan.

[top]Key policies

These include:

• embedding action to tackle drugs within the neighbourhood policing approach, to gather community intelligence and to increase community confidence
• targeting the drug-misusing offenders causing the highest level of crime, improving prison treatment programmes and increasing the use of community sentences with a drug rehabilitation requirement
• strengthening and extending international agreements to intercept drugs being trafficked to the UK
• extending powers to seize the cash and assets of drug dealers, to demonstrate to communities that dealing doesn't pay
• focusing on the families where parents misuse drugs, intervening early to prevent harm to children, prioritising parents' access to treatment where children are at risk, providing intensive parenting guidance and supporting family members, such as grandparents, who take on caring responsibilities
• developing a package of support to help people in drug treatment to complete treatment to to re-establish their lives, including ensuring local arrangements are in place to refer people from Jobcentres to sources of housing advice and advocacy and appropriate treatment
• using opportunities presented by the benefits system to support people in re-integrating into society and gaining employment, with a commitment to examine further how claimants can be incentivised to engage with treatment and other services
• piloting new approaches which allow a more flexible and effective use of resources, including individual budgets to meet treatment and wider support needs

[top]Developing the strategy

The strategy was informed by several pieces of research:

• Ipsos MORI report on the 2007 drug strategy consultation
• Drugs: our community, your say - the 2007 drug strategy consultation
• Equality impact assessment

[top]Delivering the strategy

The strategy covers a ten-year period to 2018. Its delivery is underpinned by a series of three-year action plans, which run concurrently with the spending review cycles.

• Download the action plan 2008-2011

[top]Partnerships with other government departments

The drug strategy is delivered as a cross-government initiative. While the Home Office has overall responsibility for delivery, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, Department of Health and many other government departments are also key.

[HomerK]

Just posting because the thread title reminded me of George W. and I laughed.

[enquirewithin]

This 'plan' means nothing and will fail.

-- strengthening and extending international agreements to intercept drugs being trafficked to the UK

Blair gave reducing the supply of heroin to the UK as a reason for the US/UK's imperial aggression in Afghanistan. The supply is up 90%.

[Swift Serenity]

wow this is a joke.. can they just give up already?

[enquirewithin]

^Being 'tough on drugs' is a very easy way of winning votes, sadly.