Rather than focussing on one individual area of policy, it
might be useful to look in brief at a number of issues that I have been working
on. The sector can be affected not only by decisions relating directly to people
with histories of drug and/or alcohol use or services that support them, but
also those that have a wider application. This month, there are examples of
both – the role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system, the evolution
of the Government’s Social Justice Strategy, and DrugScope’s monitoring of
commissioning and funding arrangements for drug and alcohol services.
Jobcentre Plus
In April, the Work and Pensions Select Committee announced an
inquiry
into the role of Jobcentre Plus in the reformed welfare system. Whilst most
people will be aware of the rise of contracted-out provision (through labour
market interventions such as the Flexible New Deal and then the Work Programme)
and the increased use of the internet for making and managing claims, the role
of Jobcentre Plus is still central to the relationship between the Department
of Work and Pensions and the individual.
With Universal Credit due to start national roll-out in
October 2013, Jobcentre Plus will have a different and increasingly important
role – for example, applying ‘tailored conditionality’ for people entering
structured drug or alcohol treatment, negotiating a Claimant Commitment that
better reflects an individual’s circumstances, and dealing at first instance
with claims for what is currently income-based Employment and Support
Allowance, but will in future be part of Universal Credit. On the labour market
and job brokerage side, Jobcentre Plus will still be responsible for supporting
people towards paid employment prior to any referral to contracted-out
provision such as the Work Programme.
In a joint response with Homeless Link, DrugScope submitted
evidence concerning current claimant experiences of Jobcentre Plus, as well as
outlining some concerns about the future. We need frontline Jobcentre Plus
staff who have genuine understanding of the particular needs and barriers of
people with histories of substance use, and are able to support people to
disclose. We need services that are joined-up and work collaboratively with
treatment providers, Work Programme providers and others. We need a
conditionality regime that recognises the genuine problems some people have in
understanding, remembering and carrying out the expectations placed on them,
and when people are ready and able to progress into work, we need to see
diverse services that can provide skilled, specialist employment support.
You can read the submission here.
Social Justice
Strategy
In March 2012, the Government published “Social
Justice: transforming lives”, a strategy that sets out a vision of social
justice. Whilst many concepts of social justice have
focussed on process and comparative disadvantage, the strategy instead looks at
particular groups – families, young people, unemployed people, and
disadvantaged adults, and attempts both to articulate the problems, and what
the Government is doing to tackle them. Much of the language used in the
strategy will be familiar to those in the drug and alcohol sector - prevention
and early intervention; recovery and independence, locally designed and
delivered solutions; payment by results and multi-agency delivery.
In April 2013, the Government published an updated Social
Justice Outcomes Framework along with a one-year review
of the strategy, stating more explicitly the indicators to be measured. A
number of indicators identified and factors referred to will be of interest to
treatment providers – for example the indicators directly concerning people
successfully completing drug or alcohol treatment, gaining employment and
(where relevant) ceasing offending, but also related subjects such as
homelessness, financial exclusion and debt, educational outcomes for young
people and health inequalities.
The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (Inclusion) has
been commissioned by DWP to develop a Social Justice Toolkit that will provide
an easy-to-use overview of Social Justice Indicators (based around the themes
of families, young people, the importance of work, disadvantaged adults, plus
delivering social justice) in all local authorities. The aim is to produce an
easy to use tool for local policy makers, commissioners and service providers,
to aid understanding of local factors and priorities. DrugScope, along with
other agencies including Making Every Adult
Matter (MEAM) is working with Inclusion to identify potential data sources
with the aim of launching the toolkit in July 2013.
Monitoring
April 2013 saw further changes which will continue to transform
the commissioning and funding of drug and alcohol services. Two of the most
visible aspects of this are the transfer of public health responsibilities to
Local Authorities and the election last year of Police and Crime Commissioners
who are significant players in commissioning services that cut across substance
use, criminal justice and offending.
These major changes are taking place against a background of
further reforms that either relate directly to the sector, or could otherwise
have some bearing, for example the folding of the NTA into Public Health
England, payment by results, changes planned to offender rehabilitation and
welfare reform. Across different policy areas, the continued drive to
commission joint services and encourage partnership working is plain.
With so much decision making devolved to local level,
DrugScope - with the Recovery
Partnership – is actively trying to understand the national picture. We are
currently mapping local decision making and commissioning structures – DATs /
DAATs, Directors of Public Health, Health and Wellbeing Boards as well as Police
and Crime Commissioners and other stakeholders. We’ll be looking at what
priorities they are setting, how they are setting them, and what changes to funding
and commissioning occur as a result. Later this year, we’re planning on
carrying out a state of the sector – or SOS - survey looking directly at the
experience of services and service providers.
However much we can do, nothing counts as much as eyes and
ears on the ground. On behalf of the Recovery Partnership, DrugScope has
established RecoveryWatch, a system enabling people to let us know of local
developments – big or small, positive or negative – to help to inform our work
over the coming months.
Whatever your role, your information will be welcome and
will be treated with the strictest confidence. You can find out more about
RecoveryWatch here.
Paul Anders,
Senior Policy Officer
