Dame Carol Black has been appointed to the role of independent advisor to the government on drugs, DHSC and the Home Office have announced. The appointment is for a three-year term until November 2028.
Dame Carol, who authored the two-part Independent review of drugs, will work alongside the Joint Combating Drugs Unit to ‘champion a whole system, cross-government’ approach, the government says, as well as advising on local delivery through local drug partnerships.
‘I am pleased to welcome Dame Carol Black’s reappointment as independent advisor on drugs,’ said public health minister Ashley Dalton. ‘Dame Carol has successfully built trust across the whole system, and her continued leadership will be vital as we drive forward a comprehensive public health response. With our investment of £3.4bn ringfenced for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery over the next three years, we are committed to reducing drug deaths, supporting people into recovery, and breaking the cycle of harm that affects individuals, families and communities. I look forward to continuing our work with Dame Carol to improve drug and alcohol treatment services and save lives.’
Speaking to DDN earlier this year Dame Carol said that system change and properly rebuilding the drug and alcohol workforce had been happening ‘more slowly’ than she would have liked. ‘I thought that once we got the money and the right structures, people would respond enthusiastically and want to go back into addiction work. I thought the culture would change to that of realising you needed a holistic system, but it’s taken far longer bring that about – or to start to bring that about.’
While there had undoubtedly been ‘significant’ steps forward – such as establishing the Joint Combating Drugs Unit, the availability of IPS across the country, and the growth of LEROs – there were still major challenges, including the ongoing siloing of mental health and substance services, she stated.
‘Overall, is the quality good enough? No it’s not,’ she said. ‘Has there been enough innovation with the money? No. But I would say, overall, that we’re going in the right direction.’
Meanwhile, the government has published a summary of Project ADDER activity from its launch in 2020 to its closure this year. The programme, which was designed to tackle drug-related harm and offending, saw 48,000 arrests and more than £20m of cash seized, as well as nearly 24,000 out of court disposals for drug possession offences, the document states.
Project ADDER programme data available here