The updated Drug Strategy:
Business Engagement
Businesses are social as well as economic units, forming an integral part of any community. Drugs are an issue for employees, and others concerned in the workplace for a number of reasons including the negative impact on local communities, on the welfare of individual employees and on a company's productivity levels.
For these reasons the business sector has an important role to play across the National Drug Strategy, with young people and communities, on treatment and supply, and at local and national levels .To help the business sector to undertake this role effectively, the Home Office is working on a number of projects with key partners, including the CBI, TUC, the Department for Work and Pensions, British Chambers of Commerce, and the Federation of Small Businesses.
- Working together with the business sector we aim:
- to make businesses and local communities more aware of effective anti-drug activities at both national and local levels, and to encourage them to become actively involved in the drug strategy.
- to encourage the business community to implement effective workplace drug policies inline with the Drugs Strategy; and
- to establish a business forum for the sharing of best practice among the business community and to direct support towards effective anti-drugs projects in local communities.
Working with the business community
We aim to work with the business community to raise awareness generally about the dangers of drug abuse. to support anti-drugs community based projects,and to work with young people to help them stay clear of drugs.By working both with existing drugs charities and the business sector, we will seek to encourage the sharing of best practice and information on the impact of drugs and drugs policy on business, and to channel support (including limited funding and gifts in kind to local anti-drugs projects.
Managing drugs in the workplace
We aim to reduce the harmful effects of drug and alcohol misuse on employees and work performance.This will be achieved by establishing a workplace service model in Drug Action Team (DAT) areas.
The project has been developed with a number of DATs nationally and other partners,including the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses ,the British Chambers of Commerce, the TUC, Drugscope, Alcohol Concern, KCA (UK) Workplace services and the Health and Safety Executive.
Rehabilitation through employment
We aim to support recovering drug users leaving treatment to find work and training and to access specialist support, advice, mentoring and advocacy services so they can sustain participation in existing programmes and to progress into a job. This project known as Progress2Work (p2w), is part of a £40 million programme being delivered in partnership with JobCentre Plus. This seeks to appoint local co-ordinators to develop and oversee local plans in each JobCentre Plus area. The co-ordinators will also oversee a contract let via external tender for the provision of support and training services.
Information collated by the Drug Strategy Directorate in the Home Office-April 2003.