National Users' Network

Steve, United Kingdom, admin@nationalusernetwork.org

Cross Party Group

http://www.nationalusernetwork.org

02:31 09-Sep-2010

Cross Party Parliamentary Group on Drug & Alcohol Treatment & Harm Reduction

The Cross Party Group on Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Harm Reduction has been established by the Conference Consortium to provide an opportunity for the views of practitioners in the field to be made available to parliamentarians.  This group differs from existing forums, which tend to be government funded and parliamentarian driven. Group members will provide briefings for parliamentarians, information for debates, will comment on legislation and suggest amendments.  The group will also organise seminars and events on relevant issues which concern practitioners in the field.

Objectives of the Cross Party Group

Lord Ramsbotham, the former Chief Inspector of Prisons, has
agreed to chair the group during its inaugural period, and Mike
Wood, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, has agreed to act as
Secretary. Practitioners hope that four or five parliamentarians
from all Parties will agree to act as Vice Chairs.
Group members will provide Parliamentarians with
Parliamentary Questions, briefings for debates, views on
legislation and proposals for policy initiatives.

The principal objectives of the groups' members are to:

• Inform and influence parliamentarians and the public on
all issues relevant to the provision of drug and alcohol
services to offenders;
• The law and its application and consequences;
• To promote best practice in the provision of drug and
alcohol services, with the emphasis on quality rather
than quantity;
• To promote strategies which would reduce dependency
on drug and alcohol and therefore crime and health
budgets;
• To promote the influence of practitioners' views in the
development of policy;
• To provide parliamentarians with briefings on all
pertinent issues;
• To campaign to ensure that available resources for drug
and alcohol resources meet need;
• The dissemination of information and research on good
practice;
• To foster thinking and new ideas in the drug and alcohol
fields.

For briefings & parliamentary digests click on link.

http://www.conferenceconsortium.org/index.php/cross-party-group.html