04 May 2026
Last week, we joined a joint session of the Justice Union Parliamentary Group and the Drugs, Alcohol & Justice APPG on 27 April. The meeting focused on the drugs crisis across the prison estate, following the publication of two major reports: the Justice Committee's inquiry into drugs in prison and the National Audit Office's examination of the costs of tackling drug harms in prisons.
Both reports make sobering reading. Around 39% of prisoners say it is easy to get hold of drugs. Nearly 160,000 substance misuse appointments were recorded as missed in 2024–25, roughly a third of all appointments. And significant portions of the funding earmarked to tackle the problem were never actually spent.
We made the case for five things government needs to hear about drugs and treatment in the prison system.
What we told them.
The prison drugs crisis is inseparable from the community drugs crisis
People don't develop dependence in a vacuum. Most arrive in prison with existing treatment needs, and many leave with those needs unmet or worse. Any strategy that treats prison and community provision as separate systems will fail. Government should fund them as a single, continuous pathway.
Treatment works only when people can actually access it
The NAO's finding that a third of substance misuse appointments highlights the challenges around how prisons are structured, and not just how motivated people are. When individuals are locked in cells for 22 hours a day and regime pressures mean escorts to healthcare don't happen, treatment systems are set up to fail. We need to address the operational barriers to attendance, not simply record the DNA rate and move on.
Prison treatment commissioning needs reform
Treatment in prisons should be commissioned directly and separately from general healthcare services, with greater involvement of prison governors and local authorities. Bundling drug treatment and recovery services into general prison healthcare contracts dilutes focus, limits specialist input, and prevents governors from shaping treatment around the realities of their prison.
Community sentencing demands parallel investment in community treatment
If the Sentencing Review recommendations are implemented and more people are managed outside custody, community drug and alcohol services will need to absorb significantly more demand - including people with very complex needs. Government cannot expand community sentences without expanding the treatment infrastructure to support them. A reallocation of even a modest proportion of prison capital spend towards community treatment would deliver better outcomes and better value.
Synthetic drugs demand agile, well-resourced clinical responses
Nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are changing the risk profile of drug use in prisons. Providers need the flexibility and funding to adapt clinical protocols, training, and harm reduction responses quickly.
These messages reflect what we see every day delivering drug and alcohol treatment across the country, in prisons, and in the community. We will continue to make the case to government that joined-up investment in treatment is both the most effective and the most cost-effective response to the drugs crisis in the prison system.
