Public Health England (PHE) has today, 26 January 2017, published a comprehensive review of the evidence on the drug misuse treatment system in England. In comparison with other countries and the international research, it shows the system is performing well but some areas need improvement. Some of the findings include:

• 60% of all opioid users are in treatment – among the highest reported internationally
• 97% of all users start treatment within three weeks, which compares favourably with other countries
• there is a very low rate of HIV infection among injecting drug users (1%) in England

The two areas where treatment in England is not doing so well are the number of drug-related deaths, which is estimated to continue to rise, and the numbers continuing to use opiates/heroin after starting treatment.

Although fewer people are using drugs than 10 to 15 years ago, an increase in hospital admissions and drug-related deaths indicate that drug-related harms are increasing. The evidence suggests this increase is largely among a small but growing number of vulnerable, older entrenched heroin users, with poor physical and mental health.

The evidence shows that drug treatment alone is often not enough. Social factors are important influences on treatment effectiveness. Those in decent housing, employment and with good social networks are more likely to recover and remain drug-free. Effective integrated services are important to success.

Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director of Health and Wellbeing at PHE said:

Our review highlights the many benefits of drug misuse treatment for individuals, families and communities. But there are challenges ahead.

Local areas increasingly have to meet the complex needs of older long-term heroin users, often in poor health, with other problems particularly housing, poor social-networks and unemployment, which are vital to successful recovery.

Services will also need to be flexible, ensuring appropriate treatment to those seeking help for the first time, particularly with emerging issues such as new psychoactive substances or the problematic use of medication.

With every £1 spent on treatment yielding a £2.50 saving on the social costs of drug misuse, it makes sound sense for local authorities to continue to invest – helping people get their lives back on track and fully contributing to society.

PHE also published the first annual report on individuals receiving specialist treatment for drugs and alcohol misuse in prisons and other secure settings, following the successful implementation of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) in these estates.

The data will improve our understanding of the way that treatment is delivered in secure settings and will be a valuable resource for policy makers, commissioners and service providers. This data will now act as a baseline against which future activity and performance will be measured.

Sarah Newton, Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding and Countering Extremism said:

Recovery remains a vital part of this government’s approach to tackling drugs and reducing their devastating impact.

This review shows progress is being made and sets out the benefits to individuals, their families and the communities in which they live of high quality tailored drug treatment, which can help reduce crime.

The government will continue to act to reduce the harms caused by drugs, setting out our approach in our forthcoming drugs strategy.

• Read Evidence review of the outcomes that can be expected of drug misuse treatment in England
• Read Secure setting statistics from the NDTMS 2015 to 2016
• International comparisons found England to be performing well:
  • relatively low rate (0.25%) of all 15 to 64 year olds in the population are injecting
  • the rate of drop out from treatment before 3 and 6 months (18% and 34%) is comparable to the literature (28% on average)
  • The rate of Hepatitis C infection (50%) is lower than several other countries with available data
• Treatment in England is associated with a marked reduction in convictions (47%) among those retained in treatment for 2 years or who successfully completed treatment
• New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) misuse remains a threat, particularly in prisons. New patterns of drug use and health risk behaviour are also becoming established, including injecting NPS and ‘chemsex’, drugs used alongside high-risk sexual behaviour

Official statistics

Review reports

Public Health Matters blogs

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Ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day 2017, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has today (26 January 2017) announced £375,000 of new funding to further encourage the reporting and prevention of hate crime.

The new package will be targeted at a range of existing organisations, working with faith and minority communities that have historically faced challenges in reporting hate crime. These include race and faith groups and those working at challenging the prejudice towards people from alternative subcultures.

The extra support will build upon the wide reaching work the government is already doing to reduce hate crime, increase reporting and improve support for victims. It builds on the £1 million of support directed at young people announced as part of the government’s Hate Crime Action Plan last summer.

Mr Javid will announce the new funding in a speech at The Anne Frank Trust Annual Lunch to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in London today, before hosting the UK Commemorative Ceremony for Holocaust Memorial Day.

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

Holocaust Memorial Day is a stark and important reminder of what can happen when hate and intolerance spirals out of control and specific groups are targeted simply because they are different.

These funds build upon what government is already doing through the Hate Crime Action Plan to challenge the misperceptions that lead to hate crime and support victims from marginalised communities to stand up and report incidents.

Let me be clear. Hate crime has no place whatsoever in British society. We will not stand for it. All communities must be able to live their lives free from fear of verbal or physical attack.

Minister for Faith and Integration Lord Bourne said:

This new funding will support communities most at risk that may find reporting and preventing hate crime challenging for a variety of cultural and historical reasons.

Every community in Britain should feel confident in standing up to the perpetrators of hate crime and make it clear that hate and intolerance is entirely unacceptable.

Groups receiving funding

The package will provide funding to the following organisations:

• Sophie Lancaster Foundation: a charity set up following the murder of 20 year-old Sophie Lancaster in Lancashire in 2007 that seeks to challenge the prejudice and intolerance towards people from alternative subcultures; Sophie’s mother, Sylvia, visits schools around the country to instill tolerance in young people through education

• True Vision: the police reporting portal for hate crime. New funding will help encourage groups that face challenges in reporting hate crime including Sikh and Hindu communities and recent arrivals from Eastern Europe; True Vision will also work with National Churchwatch, an organisation which works to counter hate crime against the Christian community

• The Traveller Movement: a charity that aims to improve reporting rates for hate crimes against the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

• Show Racism the Red Card: a campaign to unite young people of different backgrounds using professional footballers and their clubs to educate against racism

Additional funding will go to National Hate Crime Awareness Week that takes place each October to develop the scope and depth of the programme and to encourage collaboration between anti-hate crime charities across the country.

We already have one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. The Hate Crime Action Plan published last year includes new actions and support to ensure the legislation is used effectively to support victims and deal with perpetrators. See the Hate Crime Action Plan for more information.

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is a charity established by the government to promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January) in the UK. See the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website for more information.

The Anne Frank Trust UK is an education charity that uses Anne Frank’s life and diary to empower young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to challenge all forms of prejudice and discrimination. The charity was recognised by the EHRC recently as a highly effective organisation in tackling prejudice-related behaviour amongst young people.

Minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin launched the Innovation Initiative’s £6m Accelerator Enduring Challenge today, seeking to fast-track the innovative ideas which will keep the UK and its Armed Forces safe and secure.

Cutting-edge ideas like the life-saving device being developed by the University of Strathclyde to minimise blood loss in severely injured personnel; and 2iC’s state-of-the-art work on secure data exchange between soldiers, vehicles, and bases and between coalition partners and allies. The MOD’s investment in such innovative solutions demonstrates how the government is ensuring our Armed Forces have the most effective and innovative capability available.

The £6m Enduring Challenge is run by the MOD’s new Defence and Security Accelerator and will fast-track the best ideas by funding their development, matching suppliers with expert Innovation Partners, and boosting supplier access to defence. The competition will run regularly, with up to 12 rounds a year.

Opening the competition in London, Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin, said:

The Accelerator Enduring Challenge is another important step in our Innovation Initiative’s aim to transform defence. Backed by a rising defence budget and our £800m Innovation Fund, the Innovation Initiative is transforming Defence’s creative culture.

We are challenging academics and businesses of all kinds to innovate, cooperate, and build mutual security and prosperity as the UK develops its ambitious Industrial Strategy to ensure an economy that works for everyone.

The launch event in London brought together researchers, entrepreneurs, innovation centres, small and medium-sized enterprises, the defence industry and international allies to build the collaborative approach which will deliver cutting-edge defence technology.

The Accelerator Enduring Challenge builds on the previous Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) Enduring competition by increasing funding and access to government. £6m will be available for the first year of the Enduring Challenge, which includes a second phase of new funding. The first phase will look at ideas in their early stages, while the second phase will nurture promising projects, as well as offering an alternative route for more advanced ideas and technologies.

Acting Head of the Accelerator, Rob Solly, said:

Through the Enduring Challenge we are hoping to reach out to a wide supply base, which can provide us with innovative ideas that challenge our ways of thinking and operating. We will then work with selected suppliers to support them in their development towards market delivery.

The first competition of the Accelerator Enduring Challenge is now open, with a deadline of 5 April 2017 to submit proposals. The competition will then operate on a regular basis with up to 12 rounds per year.

More information is available on the Accelerator’s website.

Richard Calvocoressi

Richard Calvocoressi is a Director and Senior Curator of the Gagosian Gallery in London. He was formerly Director of the Henry Moore Foundation (2007-15). From 1987 to 2007 he was Keeper, then Director, of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. From 1979 to 1987 he was a curator at the Tate Gallery, where he was responsible for building up the collections of pre- and postwar European art. He also organised major exhibitions of Jean Tinguely (1982) and Oskar Kokoschka (1986). In Scotland, he acquired important international collections of dada and surrealist art from the estates of Roland Penrose and Gabrielle Keiller and was instrumental in attracting the Anthony d’Offay gift (Artist Rooms) to Edinburgh and London. Richard Calvocoressi has published on various modern and contemporary artists, including Michael Andrews, Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Reg Butler, Lucian Freud, Anselm Kiefer, Yves Klein, Paul Klee, René Magritte, Lee Miller and Henry Moore. He is an Expert Member of the Comité Magritte and a Trustee of the Art Fund. In 2008, he was awarded a CBE for services to the arts, particularly in Scotland. His term will end on the 12th of November 2020.

Leslie Webster

Former Keeper of the Department of Prehistory and Europe, and senior curator of the early medieval collections at the British Museum, she specialises particularly in the Anglo-Saxon and Viking period, on which she publishes and lectures widely. Her latest book is Anglo-Saxon Art: a new History (2012). She is currently Honorary Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. She co-curated four major exhibitions on early medieval themes at the British Museum, and also co-ordinated a series of exhibitions in five major European museums, as part of the European Science Foundation’s Transformation of the Roman World AD 400-900 Project. She has served as a Trustee and committee member on many professional bodies, including the Society of Antiquaries of London, the Royal Archaeological Institute, and the Society for Medieval Archaeology, where she served as President from 2007-10. Other advisory work has included membership of the former English Heritage Museums and Archives Advisory Panel, the British Academy Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture Committee, and the National Heritage Memorial Fund Advisory Panel. She is actively engaged in the Staffordshire Hoard Research Project, and is co-editor of the forthcoming publication of this major Anglo-Saxon find. Her term will end on the 17th of February 2020.

Appointments to The RCEWA are made by the Secretary of State. Roles are unremunerated.

This reappointment has been made in accordance with the Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for defined political activity in the last five years to be made public. Neither Richard or Leslie have declared any such political activity.