Young people
Young people's substance misuse strategy
Serious drug use by young people has stabilised over the last few years but a real downward shift has still to be achieved.
To do this the Home Office has been working closely with the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health on a new cross-government approach to young people and drugs which began implementation in April 2005.
A central aim of the government's drug strategy is to prevent today's young people from becoming tomorrow's problem drug users.
A key aim under the Every Child Matters 'Be Healthy' outcome for children and young people is to encourage young people to choose not to take illegal drugs.
New guidance on young people and drugs has been published detailing this approach in Every Child Matters - Young People and Drugs.
To be effective in helping young people avoid drug problems we are focusing on the following objectives:
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reforming delivery and strengthening accountability
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ensuring provision is built around the needs of vulnerable children and young people
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building service and workforce capacity
Drug Action Teams and children's services can help each other improve outcomes for young people and their families and the community, as part of an overall strategy for meeting children and young people's needs.
Young people's services must be fully committed to identify drug misuse in young people and intervening before the problem becomes acute.
We need to build on this through the Change for Children programme so that more can be done to prevent drug misuse earlier on.
Key achievements
Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant totals around £55 million and is available to local areas to fund a range of comprehensive interventions for young people through YPSMPG (Young People's Substance Misuse Partnership Grant) in addition to mainstream investment.
FRANK- massive awareness of the FRANK has been achieved with millions seeking help and advice through the helpline and website.
Positive Futures - continues to demonstrate achievement in positively influencing participants in some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.
Blueprint - the biggest drug education research programme ever run in this country due to report in 2007.
Key statistics
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Class A drug use in the past year amongst 16-24 year-olds remains stable at around 8% (British Crime Survey 2005-2006)
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Class A drug use amongst 11-15 year-olds is stable at around 4% (Department of Health School Survey 2005)
For more information visit Research Development Statistics (new window) (RDS)
