Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to address a) low pay, b) a lack of formal training and development pathways, and c) job insecurity and organisational changes, highlighted in the May 2025 Ipsos Drug and Alcohol treatment and recovery workforce survey as key reasons why 54% of those surveyed were either leaving or considering leaving the sector within the next two years.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have been working on a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce transformation programme since 2022. The 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, published in 2024, sets out actions for the Government, commissioners, and employers between 2024 and 2034.
This work is informed by three national workforce censuses and an Ipsos staff survey to identify where national and local action is most needed. The latest workforce census showed the workforce increased from 11,270 in 2022 to 13,103 in 2024.
Relevant initiatives have been implemented, including to improve the skills mix, and strengthen clinical supervision and governance, enabling training for currently unregulated roles, and increasing access to regulated professional training.
In March 2025, the Department and NHS England published the Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, which sets out the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for 15 core roles in the local authority-funded drug and alcohol treatment and recovery sector.
The programme is also supporting workforce planning and pipeline development for regulated professions. This includes work to support psychology training placements in drug and alcohol services, including through a toolkit developed to support Doctorate in Clinical Psychology placements in drug and alcohol services, and the development of an addiction psychiatry credential with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to help increase specialist addiction psychiatry capacity.
The Department has also funded the development of three national training curricula for drug and alcohol workers, children and young people’s drug and alcohol workers, and peer support workers.
The Department has commissioned a detailed scoping exercise, including engaging with relevant stakeholders, to establish if a national Centre for Addiction would be viable and if so, how it could be established and what its remit could be. This work is considering workforce needs, possible functions, delivery models, and risks. The findings will inform a future decision on whether and how to establish a centre.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to address unmet treatment needs for dependence on a) alcohol and b) other drugs, in the context of a recent report from the Forward Trust that estimates that 750,000 UK citizens are currently addicted to alcohol and 400,000 are addicted to other drugs.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. As a condition of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are responsible for improving the uptake of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan which has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners.
The Government’s estimates of dependence for opioids and crack, and for alcohol, have been used to produce estimates of unmet need, which are added to the Local Outcomes Framework, i.e. national priority outcomes delivered at the local level. Over the next three years, through the Public Health Grant, we will provide local authorities with a minimum of £3.4 billion of ringfenced funding for drug and alcohol prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Key elements of the Addiction Healthcare Goals (AHG) programme are already being rolled out, including the provision of over £10 million for the Addiction Research Leadership Programme to create a UK-wide pipeline of future research leaders, and £20 million for the ‘AHG: Catalysing Innovation Awards’ to accelerate new pharmaceutical, medical technology, and digital solutions. This work will strengthen our evidence base, and generate new treatments and recovery approaches to improve healthcare outcomes.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken in relation to plans announced in the July 2024 Drug and Alcohol Workforce Plan for a national Centre for Addiction.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have been working on a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce transformation programme since 2022. The 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, published in 2024, sets out actions for the Government, commissioners, and employers between 2024 and 2034.
This work is informed by three national workforce censuses and an Ipsos staff survey to identify where national and local action is most needed. The latest workforce census showed the workforce increased from 11,270 in 2022 to 13,103 in 2024.
Relevant initiatives have been implemented, including to improve the skills mix, and strengthen clinical supervision and governance, enabling training for currently unregulated roles, and increasing access to regulated professional training.
In March 2025, the Department and NHS England published the Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, which sets out the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for 15 core roles in the local authority-funded drug and alcohol treatment and recovery sector.
The programme is also supporting workforce planning and pipeline development for regulated professions. This includes work to support psychology training placements in drug and alcohol services, including through a toolkit developed to support Doctorate in Clinical Psychology placements in drug and alcohol services, and the development of an addiction psychiatry credential with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to help increase specialist addiction psychiatry capacity.
The Department has also funded the development of three national training curricula for drug and alcohol workers, children and young people’s drug and alcohol workers, and peer support workers.
The Department has commissioned a detailed scoping exercise, including engaging with relevant stakeholders, to establish if a national Centre for Addiction would be viable and if so, how it could be established and what its remit could be. This work is considering workforce needs, possible functions, delivery models, and risks. The findings will inform a future decision on whether and how to establish a centre.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to implement the 2024 Drug and Alcohol Workforce Plan.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department and NHS England have been working on a drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce transformation programme since 2022. The 10-year strategic plan for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, published in 2024, sets out actions for the Government, commissioners, and employers between 2024 and 2034.
This work is informed by three national workforce censuses and an Ipsos staff survey to identify where national and local action is most needed. The latest workforce census showed the workforce increased from 11,270 in 2022 to 13,103 in 2024.
Relevant initiatives have been implemented, including to improve the skills mix, and strengthen clinical supervision and governance, enabling training for currently unregulated roles, and increasing access to regulated professional training.
In March 2025, the Department and NHS England published the Capability framework for the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery workforce, which sets out the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for 15 core roles in the local authority-funded drug and alcohol treatment and recovery sector.
The programme is also supporting workforce planning and pipeline development for regulated professions. This includes work to support psychology training placements in drug and alcohol services, including through a toolkit developed to support Doctorate in Clinical Psychology placements in drug and alcohol services, and the development of an addiction psychiatry credential with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to help increase specialist addiction psychiatry capacity.
The Department has also funded the development of three national training curricula for drug and alcohol workers, children and young people’s drug and alcohol workers, and peer support workers.
The Department has commissioned a detailed scoping exercise, including engaging with relevant stakeholders, to establish if a national Centre for Addiction would be viable and if so, how it could be established and what its remit could be. This work is considering workforce needs, possible functions, delivery models, and risks. The findings will inform a future decision on whether and how to establish a centre.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to roll out the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services as part of their public health responsibilities. As a condition of the Public Health Grant, local authorities are responsible for improving the uptake of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol treatment services, based on an assessment of local need and a plan which has been developed with local health and criminal justice partners.
The Government’s estimates of dependence for opioids and crack, and for alcohol, have been used to produce estimates of unmet need, which are added to the Local Outcomes Framework, i.e. national priority outcomes delivered at the local level. Over the next three years, through the Public Health Grant, we will provide local authorities with a minimum of £3.4 billion of ringfenced funding for drug and alcohol prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Key elements of the Addiction Healthcare Goals (AHG) programme are already being rolled out, including the provision of over £10 million for the Addiction Research Leadership Programme to create a UK-wide pipeline of future research leaders, and £20 million for the ‘AHG: Catalysing Innovation Awards’ to accelerate new pharmaceutical, medical technology, and digital solutions. This work will strengthen our evidence base, and generate new treatments and recovery approaches to improve healthcare outcomes.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department currently estimates the cost of alcohol harm to be in a) England, b) Wales, c) Scotland and d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such recent estimate has been made, and, as a devolved responsibility, it is not the Department’s role to assess the impact of alcohol harm outside England.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Department maintains a public register or internal inventory of automated decision-making systems.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to the safe, ethical and transparent use of algorithmic decision-making and wider algorithmic tools. Transparency is essential to building public trust, enabling accountability, and improving understanding of how algorithms influence decisions and services.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold a separate public register of automated decision-making systems. Where tools fall within scope of the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard, information is published in line with that standard. The Department also has internal governance and assurance arrangements, including an internal inventory of AI-enabled tools and products.
The Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) is a UK Government standard designed to promote transparency and accountability in the use of algorithmic tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and automated or algorithm-assisted decision-making systems, across the public sector. It provides a standardised template that enables public bodies to explain what a tool does, why it is being used, how it supports or informs decision-making, the data it uses, the potential risks and impacts that have been identified, and the governance and safeguards in place to manage those risks.
On the basis of current records, the Department does not use AI-enabled tools to take decisions without human involvement. These tools support, rather than replace, professional judgement. Their outputs are reviewed by a suitably qualified person and checked against authoritative sources before being relied upon.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measures are in place to ensure that human oversight is substantive and effective, rather than limited to formal or nominal review.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) ensures substantive and effective human oversight of automated decisions involving personal data through meaningful human involvement in the process. Automated outputs undergo thorough human review and do not form the sole basis for significant decisions unless there is a lawful basis and all statutory safeguards are met.
The MOD’s Data Protection Impact Assessment process identifies and mitigates risks, alongside which staff receive appropriate training to fulfil their oversight responsibilities. These measures ensure that human review is genuine and compliant with data protection requirements.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department maintains a public register or internal inventory of automated decision-making systems.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to the safe, ethical and transparent use of algorithmic decision-making and wider algorithmic tools. Transparency is essential to building public trust, enabling accountability, and improving understanding of how algorithms influence decisions and services.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) does not maintain a public register or internal inventory of automated decision-making systems. However, DSIT supports transparency through the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS), which establishes a standardised way for public sector organisations to publish information about how and why they are using algorithmic tools.
The ATRS is mandatory for all government departments, and for ALBs which deliver public or frontline services, or directly interact with the general public. It applies to algorithmic tools which have a significant influence on a decision-making process with public effect or directly interact with the general public.
The scope of the ATRS encompasses many of the most significant uses of automated decision-making and algorithmic tools, and those of the greatest interest to citizens and stakeholders.
The ATRS template, scope and exemptions policy, and the repository of published records are hosted on the ATRS Hub on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps has the Department taken to assess and mitigate risks of bias or discrimination arising from the use of automated decision-making systems.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Reforms to the solely auromated decision-making (ADM) rules in the Data (Use and Access) Act make clear that these are decisions without any meaningful human involvement. This is to prevent ‘rubber stamping’ of decisions qualifying as having a ‘human in the loop’. To future-proof the legislation, the Act introduced a number of regulation-making powers to ensure the Government can keep these safeguards effective and up to date in light of evolving technology and changing societal expectations.
The ICO as the independent data protection regulator sets out in its guidance that “human involvement [in the decision making] has to be active and not just a token gesture” to be meaningful”. The ICO is working on updating its guidance in the light of the recent reforms and is working on a Code of Practice on AI and ADM which will provide authoritative guidance in data protection compliance in this area.
The UK’s data protection legislation does not lay down specific rules regarding particular employment systems. It is for each organisation to determine how it applies the data protection framework in its operational context. Where individuals are subject to significant decisions based solely on automated processing, the legislation provides safeguards including rights to information, challenge and human intervention.
The UK’s data protection legislation is a principles-based framework and does not prescribe specific consultation requirements for particular operational systems. Organisations are responsible for applying the requirements of the legislation within their own operational context and must ensure any processing of personal data complies with applicable legal requirements.
The UK’s data protection legislation applies to any processing of personal data regardless of the technology being used and is underpinned by principles of fairness, transparency and accountability. Organisations using automated decision-making or profiling must ensure processing is fair, lawful and transparent, and may be required to undertake a Data Protection Impact Assessment where processing is likely to result in a high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms.