As part of the Government’s 10-year drug strategy, 28 local authorities are receiving up to £53 million in this Spending Review period, from 2022/23 to 2024/25, to further strengthen evidence on what housing support interventions support recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Local authorities have been implementing their services since funding was announced in February 2023, with funding currently confirmed until March 2025. Further information on funding allocation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-strategy-housing-support-funding-allocations-2022-to-2025

Assessing which interventions have improved drug and alcohol treatment as well as housing outcomes for this population, is a key strand of the independent evaluation of drug strategy investment into treatment and recovery, which is due to completed by December 2025.

Further information about the evaluation can be found at the following link:

https://d-sitar.org/evaluations/housing-support-grant-evaluation

Data on the identified needs of offenders serving custodial sentences is captured in the Offender Assessment System (OASys). In June 2023, of the prisoner serving a custodial sentence of less than 12 months:

• 11,600 (60%) had a drug misuse need
• 7,500 (39%) had an alcohol misuse need

Mental health prevalence is most closely captured in OASys as current psychological problems (including depression) or psychiatric problems. Of those serving a custodial sentence of less than 12 months:

• 6,400 (32%) were found to have a significant level or some level of psychiatric problems
• 13,700 (70%) were found to have a significant level or some level of psychological problems

We do not hold specific data on those homeless before arrest.

The MoJ does not hold data on the number of adults in custody who had previously been in care by sentence length.

We do not hold data on the number or proportion of adults in custody that were excluded from school.