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Abstract

Implementation and early impacts of the housing support grant for people who use alcohol and/or other drugs in England

Aims: In 2022, through the Housing Support Grant, the former UK Government provided up to £53m across three years to help local authorities address the housing needs of people who use alcohol and/or other drugs. This research focused on whether the Housing Support Grant was implemented as intended, the barriers and facilitators encountered in its implementation, and the influence of wider and local context on delivery.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study comprising of: (1) a review of Housing Support Grant plans from local authorities across all 28 sites; (2) interviews with Housing Support Grant leads in eight local authorities; (3) three case study sites, involving interviews (n=40) and focus groups (n=14) with people who received Housing Support Grant interventions and staff; and iv) analysis of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System and Housing Support Grant monitoring datasets submitted by local authorities.

Results: Many staff and people who received the Housing Support Grant funding praised the adaptability of the Housing Support Grant and its flexibility to meet local and individual needs. The Housing Support Grant was described as particularly beneficial for vulnerable people. Partnership working between treatment and recovery services and other sectors (e.g. housing providers) varied. The Housing Support Grant required the recruitment of skilled staff who could effectively address housing issues.

Conclusions: Our findings show early positive trends among Housing Support Grant recipients and indicate that the Housing Support Grant appears to have worked as intended by improving access to housing support services, reducing housing-related barriers and positively impacting health and well-being outcomes. Some tensions were described regarding the implementation of these newly recruited roles, particularly relating to perceived variation in caseloads compared to similar roles within treatment and recovery services.

Also presenting

Implementation of the treatment and recovery portfolio of the ‘From Harm to Hope’ drug strategy in England: Results from a process evaluation

Aims: To understand the first three years of the portfolio’s implementation, this evaluation aimed to explore: whether it has been implemented as intended; key contextual factors, challenges, and drivers that influence its delivery; its contribution to the drug strategy’s whole-system approach; how the overall strategy for central implementation of the portfolio influenced its local implementation; and what mechanisms do or do not work its delivery.

Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods process evaluation consisting of desk research, quantitative analysis of grant financial returns, and primary data collection with experts and delivery stakeholders, including workshops with service commissioners and interviews with experts, central government stakeholders, local implementation leads, and treatment and recovery service leads. The evaluation also draws on findings from case studies of how ten local areas across England implemented the portfolio.

Results: Central government largely implemented the portfolio as planned. However, they underestimated the scale of the challenges faced after years of disinvestment and there were several significant delays. Ring-fenced funding provided through the portfolio was welcomed. However, uncertainty regarding long-term funding was reported to impede long-term planning. The portfolio’s aims of creating a world-class treatment system and whole-system approach have not yet been achieved.

Conclusions: The portfolio’s funding structures should align with the ambition of a ten-year strategy to avoid encouraging short-term investments over longer-term improvements. Barriers that inhibit a whole-system approach should be addressed and the action plan for integrating mental and physical health services should be published. Any future plans should include measures to address long-standing challenges in the treatment and recovery sector.