Thousands of offenders will face compulsory drug testing after release from prison to help keep them clean and cut drug-fuelled crime.

From today (3 October 2022), offenders supervised in probation hostels, known as Approved Premises, will be randomly tested for 14 different types of drugs as part of a £1.2 million initiative to reduce reoffending.

Offenders whose drug habits are directly linked to their crimes, such as heroin addicts, will be legally required to take a urine test up to once a week to prevent their addiction from spiralling into further crimes. All other offenders will be tested at least twice whilst being supervised in Approved Premises.

New enhanced tests will also make it easier to spot a range of drugs including heroin, cocaine and synthetic substances like Spice, with around 30,000 tests being carried out each year.

Those who test positive will be required to undergo intensive drug treatment or face being recalled to prison.

These changes were first introduced as a Private Members Bill by Rob Butler MP, who recently became Prisons and Probation Minister.

Rob Butler, Prisons and Probation Minister, said:

I’ve seen first-hand how drug addiction is too often at the heart of criminal activity and I have campaigned to change that.

This mandatory testing will act as a deterrent to anyone tempted to abuse drugs again, help cut crime and make our communities safer.

Illegal drug use costs the taxpayer nearly £22 billion each year, including NHS, prison and police costs. Clamping down on drug use will help break the cycle of crime which addiction causes.

This type of testing has been successfully rolled out in dozens of Approved Premises in England and will now be expanded across the whole estate by spring 2023.

‘Ian’, an offender currently housed in an Approved Premise, said:

Before I got clean from drugs, my life was chaotic, and I would do anything to get my next hit.

Regular testing in Approved Premises will reduce drug deaths and give people something to focus on and work towards.

At first, I was worried about being tested for fear of being recalled to prison but it was an incentive for me to stay clean, rebuild broken trust with family and loved ones and start applying for jobs so I can look for my own place.

The initiative represents one of the largest expansions of drug testing in the Probation Service and supports the government’s wider 10-year Drugs Strategy which is backed by £900 million of extra investment.

As part of this, the government is investing £120 million to roll out three pilot substance misuse problem-solving courts in the community to make offenders face their addictions. The investment will help establish 18 new drug recovery wings ensuring prisoners tackle their addiction head-on or face tough consequences – including further time in jail where necessary.

Approved Premises are used by the Probation Service to closely supervise and support offenders after their release from prison.

We are making resources available on GOV.UK to help providers when delivering work under the new 2022 Standard Crime Contract.

These include a welcome pack which explains the contents of the 2022 Standard Crime Contract and gives support for new providers.

What resources can providers access?

• 2022 crime contract specification and standard terms
• provider welcome pack
• new versions of guidance

Where can I view contract changes?

The 2022 crime contract includes changes and updates in a range of areas. These are detailed in the Standard Crime Contract 2022 available for download on GOV.UK. The specification changes include:

• duty solicitor engagement requirements – section 6
• pre-charge engagement – section 9.113-9.137
• gang injunctions and associated civil work – section 13.47-13.53
• committal proceedings in civil court venues – section 10.193 – 10.199

Length of contract

The new 2022 contract governing the provision of criminal legal aid services takes effect from 1 October 2022 for a period of one year. It is subject to extensions of up to 2 years.

Amended forms and guidance

Minor amendments have been made to the following forms and guidance documents to include relevant 2022 Standard Crime Contract references:

1. Criminal Bills Assessment Manual
2. Criminal Legal Aid Manual
3. CWA codes guidance (guidance for reporting crime lower work)
4. Crown Court fee guidance
5. CRM2 application for advice and assistance form
6. CRM7 non-standard fee contract work assessment form

Further information

Standard Crime Contract 2022 welcome pack

Standard Crime Contract 2022 specification

Standard Crime Contract 2022 standard terms

Criminal Bills Assessment Manual

Criminal Legal Aid Manual

CWA codes guidance (guidance for reporting crime lower work)

Crown Court fee guidance

CRM2 application for advice and assistance form

CRM7 non-standard fee contract work assessment form

Criminal Legal Aid Review – MOJ consultation hub

Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure 2020

• The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh set to become one of the biggest urban nature reserves with new declaration
• 738-hectare green beacon close to major urban areas will provide access to nature for over 300,000 local people
• Nationally important habitat will help protect rare willow tits, bitterns and water voles

A former industrial wasteland which is now a nationally important site for rare wildlife such as willow tit and bittern is set to become one of England’s largest urban nature reserves.

The Flashes of Wigan and Leigh – a 738-hectare area of species-rich wetland, meadows and woodlands – will today (3 October) join England’s network of National Nature Reserves.

The designation, which will be the first in the Greater Manchester area, recognises the incredible transformation of the Flashes over the last 100 years. Lakes formed as a result of mining subsidence became home to wildlife like the ‘booming bittern’ as natural recolonisation and large-scale reclamation works healed the scars of industry.

The former industrial landscape is declared not only for its importance in protecting wildlife and natural capital but for its recreational value to the community. It is hoped the site, which is home to a variety of pursuits from fishing to cycling, nature walks and birdwatching, will provide new opportunities for sustainable tourism and visits from local residents and those further afield.

The new protected reserve will create an oasis for nature, with Wigan also now recognised as one of the greenest urban boroughs in the United Kingdom. The mosaic of shallow open water and wetland habitats (swamp, reedbed, tall herb fen, wet marshy grassland and wet woodland) supports a rich diversity of birds and other species. This includes over 52 pairs of willow tit, accounting for approximately 2% of England’s population, as well as the heron-like bittern, water voles and great crested newts.

Natural England Chief Executive, Marian Spain said:

National Nature Reserves help reconnect people with our natural world, providing much needed opportunities to explore our incredible landscape for our health and wellbeing.

A healthy natural environment and economic growth go hand in hand. By working together to build strong partnerships such as those we see here in the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh, we can provide space for rare species and provide vital greenspace. That will make Wigan and Leigh great places to live and great places to do business in, so helping to attract inward investment.

The unique wetlands in Wigan and Leigh were forged by nature reclaiming former industrial land. Today’s designation demonstrates how it is possible to reverse the decline in nature.

Nature underpins the British economy with our natural capital estimated in 2019 to be worth £1.2 trillion. The site will benefit over 300,000 people who live locally to the area, making sure communities and young people have accessible outdoor space for health, recreation, and wellbeing.

Working in partnership with communities has been key to realising this new National Nature Reserve. Declared by Natural England with Wigan Council, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Forestry England, the NNR brings together a total of 13 sites, including Wigan Flashes, Amberswood, Three Sisters, and Bickershaw Country Park. It also includes Viridor woodland, planted by Forestry England just over 20 years ago.

National Nature Reserves were established to protect some of the most important habitats for vulnerable species, and to provide ‘outdoor laboratories’ for research.  They create vital opportunities for the public, schools, and specialist interest groups to experience wildlife first-hand and to learn more about nature conservation .

This year is the 70th anniversary of the creation of England’s first nature reserve – highlighting a long history of restoring nature and helping to bring green space and wildlife to everyone.

There are now 220 National Nature Reserve sites, spanning a total of more than 103,000 hectares. These nature hotspots are key to efforts to restore nature across England, and will play a key role in the nation’s nature recovery network in line with the Government’s key target to halt the decline in wildlife populations by 2030.

• The pre-COP meeting in Kinshasa, hosted by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Egypt, is the final formal multilateral opportunity for ministers to shape climate negotiations ahead of COP27 in November

• The COP President will represent the UK at the meeting to lay the foundations for a successful COP27 in Egypt that strengthens global climate commitments and builds on COP26

• He will also highlight the importance of the Congo Basin rainforest as the Earth’s most efficient carbon sink, as he calls on countries to honour their COP 26 promises to halt and reverse forest loss, whilst supporting sustainable development

COP President Alok Sharma will travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for pre-COP, which runs from 3-5 October. Pre-COP is the annual preparatory meeting ahead of the UN Conference of the Parties (COP).  Ahead of COP27 in Egypt, the COP President will continue to work alongside Ministers to build the foundations for successful negotiations at COP27 and progress on adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage and finance.

This year’s pre-COP is being held in Kinshasa, the first time in six years that the event has been held in Africa. The DRC is home to the largest proportion of the Congo Basin forest, which is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest region and part of the solution to climate change.

At COP26 in Glasgow, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon announced a donor pledge from 12 donors of $1.5 billion for the Congo Basin forests over 2021-25. Whilst in Kinshasa, the COP President will give an update on the progress of the pledge, ahead of its formal reporting on the Pledge at COP27.

This pledge will protect and maintain the Congo Basin forests, peatlands and other critical global carbon stores whilst meeting local sustainable economic development needs.

The COP26 Presidency recently invited world leaders to come together at COP27 to establish the Forests & Climate Leaders Partnership. This new Partnership will accelerate implementation of the unprecedented commitment made at COP26 by more than 140 countries to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation, while delivering sustainable development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.

Pre-COP will be the last time that ministers collectively gather ahead of COP27.

COP President Alok Sharma said:

“With just over a month to go until COP27, discussions here in the DRC take on an ever greater urgency.

“As the impacts of climate change become more extreme, the focus must remain on implementation and action – driving progress on what was collectively agreed in Glasgow. And we should be clear: the Glasgow Climate Pact and Paris Agreement must be the baseline of our ambition.

“Our hosts the DRC are the primary stewards of the second largest forest in the world. Forests are the lungs of our planet, absorbing one third of the CO2 which fossil fuel burning releases every year.

“COP26 laid the groundwork for more ambitious action, with more than 140 leaders committing to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. COP27 must be a moment for delivering on these commitments made to protect and restore forests.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

• The UK committed £1.5bn over five years to support the forests pledge, including £350m for tropical forests in Indonesia, and £200m for the LEAF Coalition.
• The UK will also contribute £200m, alongside 11 other donors, as part of a new £1.1 billion ($1.5bn) fund to protect the Congo Basin. The area is home to the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world which is threatened by industrial logging, mining and agriculture.
• Last year’s landmark forest pledge at COP26 to end deforestation was the biggest step forward in a generation to protect the world’s forests. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/over-100-leaders-make-landmark-pledge-to-end-deforestation-at-cop26)

• The Glasgow Climate Pact (GCP) kept alive the goal of limiting global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C degrees, while also cementing progress on finance for climate action, adaptation and loss and damage. The GCP sets out a clear framework for progress ahead of COP27 including:

• Calling on countries to phase-down unabated coal power and phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
• Requesting that countries revisit and strengthen their 2030 emissions reduction targets as necessary to align with the Paris temperature goal by the end of this year.
• Urging developed countries to scale-up climate finance, including delivery of the collective $100bn joint mobilisation goal as soon as possible and through to 2025, and to double finance for adaptation by 2025 on 2019 levels.
• Underlining the central importance of adaptation, the dangers of loss and damage, and the need to scale-up action and support for both.