A review into the effects of drug and alcohol dependency on employment outcomes has been released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The review includes a 'call for evidence' into treatments or programmes that work, and experiences of service providers and users. The Government believes that not enough is being done to ensure people get medical help for what it describes as 'long-term, treatable issues', also including obesity.
The document says 1 in 15 working age benefit claimants are 'suffering from alcohol dependency'; around 170,000 people. According to Government figures released last year, 53,880 claimants of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Incapacity Benefit (IB), or Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) did so with a primary disabling condition of alcohol misuse in 2013, representing 2.2% of all claimants.
Politics of the 'addicted'...
Back in 2010, Drug Recovery Pilots, as set out in the Welfare Reform Act 2009, had planned to provide extra support for those voluntarily disclosing a drug or alcohol problem, as well as the power to test and impose conditions. However the DWP soon said Ministers had decided not to take it forward and promised a radical 're-think' - news of course welcomed by the treatment sector.
Yet with welfare reform integral to the Conservative Government's ambitions, it will be no surprise that claimants with substance problems would be coming under renewed attention. Last year it was announced the Government were to introduce pre-paid benefit cards to prevent spending on alcohol, drugs or gambling, whilst the Conservative election manifesto declared alcohol dependency as one of the the 'root causes of poverty'.
Many of course will be opposed to the intended direction of travel, either ideologically or on accounts of 'what works'. A Guardian article declared 'linking benefits to treatment is unethical, and probably illegal', stating:
'the evidence suggests that, in general, positive incentives encourage positive behaviours and negative ones don’t. Far from reducing costs and freeing up resources (a perfectly legitimate goal) this is much more likely to waste resources by forcing people into treatments that they don’t want.'
A blog by the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion also responded with an exploration of the some of the implications. With Drugscope no longer in existence, it will be left to Alcohol Concern and others in the treatment field to highlight service provider perspectives. Certainly recent findings from the Recovery Partnership around the challenges in supporting dual diagnosis and complex needs are likely to bear relevance.
New national alcohol and drug strategies are likely to appear next year. The consultation closes on 11 September 2015.
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