Guidance

Drug and Alcohol Recovery Expert Panel: Terms of Reference

Published 6 May 2025

Applies to England and Wales

Purpose

The Drug and Alcohol Recovery Expert Panel’s (DAREP) purpose is to identify key areas for improvement in our current approach to tackling problematic drug and alcohol use in the criminal justice system (CJS) in England and Wales, and to test whether we are being sufficiently ambitious.

By bringing together leading experts, this panel can be used to provide robust, evidence-based insights and explore new initiatives that reduce and prevent demand for drugs and alcohol, address the root causes of problematic drug and alcohol use, support treatment engagement and long-term recovery, and reduce harm. The Panel is strictly an advisory body and has no executive powers.

Scope of the panel:

The scope of the DAREP will be to:

• examine our (Ministry of Justice) current approach to drugs and alcohol in the CJS
• identify areas for improvement across the system, including strengthening our approach and responding to new emerging threats (i.e. synthetic opioids)
• explore other initiatives to reflect emerging Ministerial priorities

Membership

Membership of the DAREP is voluntary and by invitation from Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Ministry of Justice.

Members are appointed based on their experience and where relevant, the posts they hold, and will possess a range of expertise to inform new initiatives that we take forward.

Core membership as follows (with areas of expertise listed where appropriate):

• Chair - Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Ministry of Justice
• Minister Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Department for Health and Social Care
• Minister Sarah Murphy, Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Welsh Government
• Dame Carol Black, the Government’s Independent Advisor on Drugs
• Dr Ed Day, the Government’s Drug Recovery Champion
• Vicki Markiewicz, substance misuse representative on the RR3 (MoJ’s reducing reoffending third sector advisory group), and Executive Director at the health and social care charity Change Grow Live
• Dr Sunil Lad, National Clinical Director for Health and Justice at NHS England
• Andi Brierley, lived experience expert and senior criminology lecturer at Trinity Leeds University
• Ranjan Bhattacharyya, General Secretary at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Great Britain
• Ed Bathgate, Chairman of the Employment Advisory Board at HMP Wormwood Scrubs and Boardman of The Nehemiah Project
• Matt Grey, Executive Director for Rehabilitation, HM Prison and Probation Service
• Anna Lacey, Deputy Director for Reducing Reoffending, Ministry of Justice

There is no remuneration for membership on the panel, but travel expenses will be paid.

Meeting format

Lord Timpson will chair the meeting and the MoJ will provide the Secretariat. Amy Rees, CEO of HMPPS, will act as standing chair in the event that Lord Timpson is unable to attend a session.

The DAREP will meet every 12 weeks for a 2-hour discussion. The agenda and relevant papers will be circulated in advance of the scheduled meeting. By exception, MoJ may also test ideas with the panel outside of scheduled meetings, where timings require this.

Review arrangements

The Secretariat will formally review these terms of reference periodically to ensure the arrangements reflect ministerial priorities. Any amendments to the terms of reference will be agreed by the DAREP membership.

Confidentiality

MOJ may share confidential information, data and ideas that are at an early stage of development – members are expected to maintain confidentiality in regard to any sensitive information.

General

For any queries regarding the DAREP please contact Offender-Health@justice.gov.uk