Drug Treatment and Addiction Act 2021

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1 Declaration of emergency

The Department for Health and Social Care shall declare that drug addiction and deaths from drug use shall be declared to be an urgent public health crisis

2 Improvement of access to drug treatment

1. The Department for Health and Social Care shall adopt the goal of providing for the following improvements in access to treatment for drug addiction by 31 December, 2025
2. Opiate substitution therapy shall be available in at least 80 percent of NHS facilities
3. Naloxone shall be freely available to all police forces and ambulance services

3 Supervised consumption facilities

Supervised consumption facilities are facilities that allow people to consume pre-obtained drugs regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 without civil or criminal liabilities and under the supervision of trained staff that are designed to reduce the health and public order issues often associated with public drug consumption

4 Amendment to the Scotland Act

In Schedule 5, Part 2, Section B1, add clause "Exception" that reads: “The provision and regulation of supervised consumption facilities”

5 Amendment to the Government of Wales Act

In Schedule 7A, Part 2, Section B14, add clause "Exception" that reads: “The provision and regulation of supervised consumption facilities”

6 Amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act

Add a new section entitled “Supervised Consumption Facilities” that reads: “Police and Crime Commissioners in England shall have the authority to provide for and regulate the approval and operation of supervised consumption facilities within their areas of jurisdiction”

7 Promoting recovery from addiction

1. The provision of structured recovery programmes, including such residential programs that may exist, shall come under the oversight of the Department for Health and Social Care, and any closures or reductions in services provided must first be approved by the Department following an investigation into the providers finances and an attempt at restructuring, before they are allowed to proceed
2. The Department for Education and Social Affairs shall ban employers from discriminating against applicants for employment based on past history of drug use or convictions for offences related to the possession and use of drugs as defined by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
3. The Department for Education and Social Affairs shall collect and monitor employment statistics among past drug users and those with past convictions for drug-related offences to determine the effectiveness of existing programmes promoting the re-integration of past drug users into the workforce

8 Extent, commencement, and short title

1. This Act extends to the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
2. This Act may be cited as the Drug Treatment and Addiction Act 2020.
3. This Act shall come into effect upon receiving royal assent.