Government drops provisions to force drug users into treatment

Release’s intensive lobbying against government plans to introduce mandatory drug treatment into the welfare benefit system has resulted in success.

The government has been forced to drop the elements of the Welfare Reform Bill – due to become an Act of Parliament in the next few days – that could force individuals to submit to treatment.

Release devised amendments to the Bill that were presented in the House of Lords by Baroness Molly Meacher, to remove the worst aspects of the proposals. Release understands that in particular, their proposal to amend the Bill to allow for the provision of an initial treatment assessment only, as opposed to required treatment, was crucial to persuading the government to drop the mandatory treatment element.

Baroness Meacher, whose committed opposition to the proposals was fundamental to persuading her colleagues of the need to change the Bill, has commented that, “the government’s original intention to force drug users in the welfare system into mandatory treatment was flawed and unethical.  I am pleased that on the basis of expert medical opinion from the East London Foundation Trust, and by working closely with Release, we have succeeded in removing this provision from the Welfare Reform Bill.”

The final Act will still contain many of the controversial powers initially proposed to identify drug using claimants including drug testing and the sharing of claimants' information between the police and Jobcentre. At least, however, the Government has dropped the most pernicious part of this legislation.