Welsh Assembly and drug policy

One of the questions arising from the devolution of power to the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament is whether those bodies will have control over their own drug and alcohol policies or whether these will be dictated from Whitehall.

There was disquiet among alcohol and drug workers after a recent meeting with members of the Welsh Assembly. The impression was that the relevant politicians did not understand the issues and had little background knowledge.

Many at the meeting, which was sponsored by the Welsh Council on Alcohol & Other Drugs, believed that the new National Assembly was neither able to deliver treatment and prevention programmes in Wales nor decide on its priorities. "Committee discussions in the Assembly are inadequate," commented David Melding, a Conservative Assembly Member, and pointed out that committees, dominated as they are by the Labour party, often allow less than thirty minutes for important discussions. Dr Dai Lloyd, a Plaid Cymru AM and a general practitioner, said that many Assembly Members "need to get into the real world and experience the string of patients presenting with alcohol and drug problems at their local surgeries."

It was clear that at the grass roots, there are a number of overworked and under-resourced agencies dealing with the results of substance misuse. Many of these agencies were left wondering whether the assembly government shares their commitment and whether it can provide the resources to enable them to tackle the problem. Commenting on the meeting, Iestyn Davies, Deputy Director of the Welsh Council said, "Serious questions have to be asked. We need to know that the new devolved government will listen and, more importantly, respond to the needs of service users and professionals in Wales. We are currently awaiting the new Welsh Strategy on Substance Misuse and as yet we are not filled with confidence that the assembly will be able to deal with this important issue."

Figures recently published by the Welsh Drug and Alcohol Unit show that, whilst referrals to treatment in Wales have increased when compared with previous years, the number of young people under 20 being referred has decreased markedly. Despite this, 19 year olds constitute 20 per cent of new notifications of substance misuse. This is still significantly higher than in England or Scotland. "Substance misuse in Wales follows a radically different pattern to that in England and Scotland," said Mr Davies. "We need a tailor-made plan for Wales based on what works here. We don't just need a rehash of the English strategy, Tackling Drugs to Build a Better Britain."

The Assembly's only response so far to Wales' drug problem has been to disband the professional advisory body supporting the development of policy and to substitute a committee which has only met four times. It is reported that many of the alcohol and drug workers felt that Jane Hutt, the Labour cabinet member, showed little in-depth knowledge when she spoke at the meeting. There was a concern that the new Substance Misuse Advisory Panel (SMAP) would not have an adequate knowledge base to influence government policy significantly or even to keep it up to date. Commenting on the demise of the Welsh Advisory Committee on Drug and Alcohol Misuse, Consultant Clinical Psychologist Dr Richard Pates noted, "When the...committee was disbanded in April the inclusion of [Drug Action Team] chair people on the new [Panel] was welcomed and necessary. However, the lack of individuals with specific drug and alcohol knowledge and experience...is a serious omission." This arrangement has led many to presume that political expediency was the only reason for replacing the old forum.

For many the arrival of the National Assembly signalled a new era for the development and implementation of local solutions to complex problems. However, Iestyn Davies summed up the feelings of many workers: "At present, one can only assume from the current response to the problems of substance misuse, that government by the unelected was better than government by the uninformed."