On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care.2 We also took evidence from Dame Carol Black, author of the government’s independent review of drugs; Mike Trace, Chief Executive Officer, Forward Trust; Alice Wiseman, Vice President and Addictions Lead, Association of Directors of Public Health and Director of Public Health, Gateshead Council; and Mark Lay, National Drugs Coordinator, National Police Chiefs’ Council.