PRE-CONSULTATION EXERCISE TO SEEK VIEWS ON A SUCCESSOR STRATEGY TO THE NEW STRATEGIC DIRECTION FOR ALCOHOL & DRUGS PHASE 2

Overview

The Department of Health (DoH) is responsible for leading and co-ordinating action on Northern Ireland’s substance misuse strategy on a regional and local basis.

The current strategy – the New Strategic Direction for Alcohol & Drugs Phase 2 (NSD Phase 2) – was published and endorsed by the former NI Executive in 2012.

The NSD Phase 2 was recently reviewed, and a report has been published which looks at its outcomes, outputs, and stakeholder views on how successful this has been. This review is available online at:  https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-and-drug-misuse-strategy-and-reports.

We are now seeking initial views from partners and the general public on what should come next.

In order to help inform your response, you may wish to consider the following range of international, national and local evidence:

• WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health (September 2018)
• World Drug Report 2018 (UNODC)
• Public Health England - The Public Health Burden of Alcohol and the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Alcohol Control Policies 
• The Health Research Board (RoI) -The effectiveness of interventions related to the use of illicit drugs: prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery
• Impact of Alcohol – What Next?
• Impact of Alcohol – Key Achievements & Learning – see 'Related' below
• Drug Misuse & Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management
• Drug & Alcohol Findings
• Alcohol-specific Deaths in the UK: 2017
• West Belfast Community Drugs Panel Report (June 2018) – see 'Related' below

Why your views matter

We want your views on the vision, focus and priorities of any new or successor strategy – should you believe one is needed. This will inform future developments in policy and practice. As well as this online consultation, we will be hosting a number of pre-consultation events and one-to-one meetings. 

We will also separately be undertaking a review of the evidence base, and other substance misuse strategies. 

What happens next

Following this exercise, we will collate and analyse all views and inputs, and, if appropriate, begin the process of developing a new strategy. 

It will be for incoming Ministers and the Executive to agree any final strategy for publication. 

It is important to note that the NSD Phase 2 – and all the structures that support action and collaboration – will remain extant until any new strategy is put in place.