Following a decade of decline, and months of rumours, a Ministry of Justice press release last month confirmed their intention to support the development of a new generation of ‘specialised wings across England and Wales that will treat drug addiction, including through abstinence’.
10 years ago, there were over 100 structured addiction treatment programmes in the England and Wales prison system. Much of these were poor quality, but those that provided structured and evidence-based therapy – Forward Trust’s own ‘RAPT’ programmes, and Phoenix’s Therapeutic Communities – were able to demonstrate big impacts on in-prison behaviour, and post-release reoffending.
Due to austerity cuts, and lack of institutional support from commissioners and prison management, most of these programmes have closed down, or have struggled to continue operations with minimal resources. Forward Trust managed 14 intensive programmes serving over 1000 prisoners in 2013, a number that dwindled to 7 programmes and 300 participants before the pandemic lockdowns.
