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drinkanddrugsnews
| May 2012
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
‘What is undeniable is that the scientific
evidence shows that drug treatment
provides value for money. Taxpayers get
backmore than they put in, through
reduced crime, better public health, and
successful outcomes for individuals.’
VALUE FOR MONEY
Your correspondent Pat Trowbridge
makes a fair point about measuring
value for money (DDN, April, page 11),
but the NTA has never undervalued
the benefits of drug treatment. The
issue is that academics have
disagreed about the numbers.
The Centre for Health Economics
at York University estimated that every
£1 spent on treatment saved £9.50 in
2004. This was based on the NTORS
research commissioned by the Home
Office, and balanced the cost of
treatment against savings made in
crime and healthcare costs.
NTORS studied mainly heroin
addicts between 1995 and 2000,
before the recent expansion of
services. Subsequently, in the light of
the rise in crack and cocaine users,
and the growth of treatment for drug-
misusing offenders, the Home Office
commissioned an update.
DTORS (2009) estimated that
£2.50 was saved for every £1
invested, but used a different
methodology and acknowledged, ‘It is
not possible to conclude that drug
treatment is now less cost-effective
than it was at the time of NTORS’.
However, the National Audit Office
accepted the £2.50 for every £1 cost-
benefit in a report (2010) that
concluded treatment was improving
and supported by robust evidence.
What is undeniable is that the
scientific evidence shows that drug
treatment provides value for money.
Taxpayers get back more than they put
in, through reduced crime, better
public health, and successful
outcomes for individuals.
Meanwhile, the NTA has been
interrogating the wealth of information
collected over recent years, in
conjunction with the drugs data
warehouse project at the Home Office,
to make its own assessment of value
for money. We intend to publish a
report on this shortly which will
demonstrate how investment in
treatment continues to improve
health, reduce crime and put
individuals on the road to recovery.
Paul Hayes, chief executive, NTA
WALK IT
LIKE YOU TALK IT
This year’s recovery walk, which is to be
held in the city of Brighton & Hove on
29 September, was officially launched
on 11 April [see picture below]. The
mayor gave us a fantastic speech,
which you can find on our new website
– www.recoverywalk2012.org.uk
You may be wondering why a ‘walk’
has to be launched. Well, the event
will be the culmination of a project
that has been running since around
August last year. We wanted this walk
to be completely peer-led, and a group
of people in recovery have been doing
some amazing work in developing this
project, and thereby developing their
own skills, knowledge and connections
(otherwise known as recovery capital).
Alongside the planning, negotiating
and banging of heads against various
walls that typifies organising such
events, the group have been working
to an asset-based approach that has
seen them forge new and interesting
allies and partnerships. People are
really very interested in what we are
doing here – not just the celebration
of recovery and tackling of stigma, but
the overall approach of empowerment
and mobilisation.
The lasting legacy for Brighton &
Hove will be an established, visible,
vocal and independent recovery
community. That’s the long game. But
what about the walk itself? Have a
look at the website for the route. In
Preston Park, we will be holding an
event with musicians/comedians etc
(there are plenty of those in Brighton –
and in recovery too!). There will be
stalls for various groups to display
their wares, open meetings, get-
togethers for activists, guerrilla
recovery coaching, kiddies’ areas, it’s
all going to be there.
The theme is creativity. This is not
only apt for Brighton, but for recovery
too. We believe that creativity is an
important part of rebuilding ourselves,
and our communities. Just like there
are many pathways to recovery, so
there are to creativity. So we want you
all to get creative and bring your
banners, kites, badges, t-shirts etc
along on the day to show us, and each
other, that recovery is a reality in all
corners of the UK.
So the launch is for all of you
really, to say ‘let’s start getting
together and getting creative’. We are
in discussion with Brighton Museum to
run a concurrent exhibition of
artefacts from the old temperance
movement that was very active in the
city. We are also making a
documentary and getting a steel band
together. We want recovery choirs,
artists, jugglers and magicians to
come and celebrate with us. The
general public of Brighton & Hove will
see that people and communities can
recover, given time and understanding.
Come, and be ‘part of’!
Brian Morgan, UKRF director and
chair of the UK recovery walk
steering group
GOOD CAUSE
Service user group Sussed are looking
at putting on a sponsored walk from
Bedford to Cambridge on 30 June.
This is one of the many ideas that
they are putting together to mark the
Eastern region recovery month, and
they are looking for sponsorship from
any organisation that would like to
support their work in their local area.
The walk is 30 miles and will be
setting off from Bedford Corn Exchange
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