Phoenix Futures welcomes the publication of the Ipsos Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant (RSDATG) final evaluation. The report provides robust national evidence that targeted investment, clearer pathways and strengthened partnership working can significantly improve access to treatment and recovery support for people facing multiple disadvantage, including people experiencing homelessness.
The findings strongly support Phoenix Futures’ long‑standing analysis that restricted access to detoxification and residential rehabilitation has not reflected need, and that many people with the highest levels of complexity have been systematically excluded from services over the past decade due to structural barriers rather than lack of motivation or capacity to change.
Improving access where exclusion has become embedded
The Ipsos evaluation demonstrates that when funding is clearly defined, time-limited barriers are reduced, and services are commissioned with inclusion and flexibility in mind, it is possible to achieve substantial improvements in access and engagement for people who have historically been unable to enter treatment. In particular, the report highlights:
- Increased treatment engagement among people facing co-occurring substance use, mental ill health, homelessness, and contact with multiple systems.
- Improved partnership working between homelessness services, substance use treatment, healthcare and local systems.
- Better continuity of care when services are incentivised to work across traditional service boundaries.
These findings add to our own analysis, alongside that of Dame Carol Black and the 'From Harm to Hope' commitment, that declining access to detox and residential rehabilitation over recent years is not evidence of reduced need, but rather the result of narrow and restrictive commissioning and funding approaches that have not sufficiently accounted for complexity, trauma and exclusion.
Detox and residential rehabilitation as part of an integrated pathway
The evaluation supports the case that detoxification and residential rehabilitation remain essential components of an effective system for people with multiple disadvantage, particularly when delivered as part of clearly defined, multi-agency pathways.
Phoenix Futures’ experience and detailed analysis aligns with Ipsos’ conclusion that outcomes improve when residential services are:
- Embedded within wider homelessness, health and social care pathways
- Commissioned with clarity around eligibility and funding responsibilities
- Linked to assertive pre-entry support and structured move-on and aftercare
This directly reflects the approach set out in Collective Voice’s recently published resources on improving access and outcomes in residential treatment, which emphasise the need for planned pathways, shared responsibility, and consistent decision-making across systems rather than high-threshold gatekeeping (https://www.collectivevoice.org.uk/news/collective-voice-publishes-new-resources-to-improve-access-and-outcomes-in-residential-treatment/).
Looking ahead
Phoenix Futures welcomes the RSDATG evaluation as further evidence that exclusion from treatment is not inevitable. We have seen first-hand time and time again that with the right funding, commissioning approach and partnership infrastructure, people who have been unable to access detox and residential rehabilitation for many years can and do engage—often with significantly improved outcomes.
We have seen these improvement first hand in Scotland where Scottish Government commitment has driven positive improvement and we support continued work across English local and national systems to remove barriers, embed learning from this report, and ensure that detoxification and residential rehabilitation are accessible, integrated and appropriately funded for those who need them most."
You can read the full report here
Drug and alcohol support for people experiencing rough sleeping or at risk: what £262m achieved across 83 areas | Ipsos
