IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes 2025 report
Published 17 September 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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Summary
This is the second report on the outcomes of the expansion of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for adults in treatment for alcohol and drug dependence in England. It follows the first report IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes 2024.
IPS is an intensive employment support intervention to help people find and stay in work. The IPS for people with alcohol and drug dependence programme is managed by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
This report presents the results of linking alcohol and drug treatment data, held by DHSC, with employment records held by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The aim of this data linkage was to evaluate the outcomes for clients in the IPS programme.
Headline findings from this analysis include:
- over half of IPS clients were recorded by HMRC as starting a job during a follow-up period of up to 18 months
- rates of employment ranged from 36% among people in treatment for opiates and crack cocaine to 57% among people being treated for alcohol only
- three-quarters of clients who got a job worked in a single job for at least 13 weeks or more and there was a clear association between completing alcohol and drug treatment and getting a job
The roll out of IPS was completed during the financial year 2024 to 2025 and these promising findings provide continued evidence of the effectiveness of the programme.
Introduction
Employment is an important part of supporting people to improve their financial and economic status. Unemployed people with alcohol and drug dependence often say that employment is a recovery goal, but they are regularly excluded from the workplace, or struggle to get or keep a job.
IPS is based on 8 evidence-based principles designed to help people find and stay in work. You can find more information on these principles in our previous report ‘IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes 2024’.
Following the IPS - Alcohol and Drugs (IPS-AD) study between 2018 and 2021, IPS for adults in treatment for alcohol and drug dependence was expanded across England. You can find a summary of IPS-AD in the Helping people in alcohol and drug treatment services into work report.
The expansion of IPS across England began in October 2019. It began with 6 of the IPS-AD study sites. During 2021 to 2022, more areas joined the IPS programme. These were areas that were:
- included in the Home Office Project ADDER (addiction, diversion, disruption, enforcement and recovery) and successor ADDER Accelerator programmes, which were designed to reduce drug-related offending, drug deaths and drug use in the hardest-hit local authority areas
- successful through an expression of interest process
Since then, IPS has been rolled out to the remaining local authority areas between 2022 and 2025, apart from 6 local authorities that were unable to accept the funding and support DHSC offered in 2024 to 2025. Five of the 6 local authorities are planning to go live in 2025 to 2026. You can find more information about the number of local authorities that joined the IPS expansion in table 1.
Table 1: IPS expansion in England
| Group | IPS services | Cumulative services | Local authorities | Cumulative local authorities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPS-AD trial sites | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 25 | 31 | 41 | 47 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 20 | 51 | 21 | 68 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 12 | 63 | 22 | 90 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 36 | 99 | 57 | 145 |
This report presents the results of data linkage between the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) and employment records held by HMRC. This was to verify and evaluate the outcomes of IPS support delivered during the expansion of IPS across England.
Methodology
Alcohol and drug treatment data
Information on people who engage in alcohol and drug treatment in England is recorded in NDTMS and provided to DHSC each month.
NDTMS collects data on all people accessing publicly funded structured alcohol and drug treatment in England. Structured drug treatment is a comprehensive package of specialist drug and alcohol focused interventions. The data collected includes:
- sociodemographic information
- clinical reviews
- physical health status
- mental health status
- the substances people have problems with
- the interventions people receive
- people’s treatment outcomes
In NDTMS reporting, people in treatment are usually divided into 4 substance groups. For this analysis, we divided people into 6 substance groups to provide more detail about people who use crack cocaine. Everyone was categorised into one group only depending on which problem substances they reported. The 6 groups are:
- opiates and crack - people that are dependent on or have problems with opiates, mainly heroin, and crack cocaine
- opiates without crack - people that are dependent on or have problems with opiates, mainly heroin, but not crack cocaine
- crack without opiates - people that have problems with crack cocaine but do not have problems with opiates
- non-opiate (excluding crack) - people that have problems with non-opiate drugs (such as cannabis and ecstasy but not crack cocaine) and not with opiates or alcohol
- non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol - people that have problems with both non-opiate drugs (excluding crack cocaine) and alcohol
- alcohol only - people that have problems with alcohol but do not have problems with any other substances
NDTMS records information on people who access IPS. This includes, with additional consent procedures, their National Insurance number and their postcode of residence which are used for data linkage with HMRC.
You can find more information on NDTMS methodology and data quality in the ‘Annual publications for NDTMS’ section on the NDTMS website.
HMRC data
HMRC analysts matched IPS clients in the HMRC Connect system and then enriched matched clients’ data using its Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Real Time Information (RTI) system. RTI contains PAYE data from the National Insurance and PAYE System, which is updated daily.
Overview of data linkage
For the purposes of this data linkage, we extracted limited data from NDTMS for people who engage in the IPS programme and consent for their information to be linked to HMRC. Specifically, this includes the client’s:
- initials
- date of birth
- sex
- postcode
- National Insurance number
- IPS enrolment date
- area where they received IPS
The data also includes an NDTMS information field that identifies the client’s age band, NDTMS substance group and alcohol and drug treatment outcomes. This field is encrypted and the coding of this field is not shared with HMRC to protect client confidentiality.
HMRC collects data on PAYE and self-employment earnings, along with income tax and both employer and employee National Insurance contributions.
How the data linkage works
The data extracted from NDTMS was securely transferred to HMRC by DHSC. HMRC uses the client’s National Insurance number, date of birth and postcode for deterministic data matching. This means that the match is only confirmed if the details match on all variables. The client’s postcode is matched if it matches to one of the last 3 postcodes recorded by HMRC. Client initials are used by HMRC to check data match quality. To anonymise the data returned to DHSC, HMRC does not return the fields used for matching.
The data returned by HMRC to DHSC includes:
- a non-identifiable person ID
- client sex
- IPS enrolment date
- IPS area
- coded NDTMS information (age band, NDTMS substance group and alcohol and drug treatment outcomes at the point of data linkage)
- a non-identifiable employer ID
- the client’s self-employment or PAYE records for 18 months before and 18 months after their IPS enrolment date
Clients whose data was sent to HMRC for data linkage:
- consented to the data linkage
- had complete data as described above
- had entered the IPS programme at least 9 months before the data linkage date
We undertook the data linkage in December 2024 using NDTMS data to the end of October 2024. We included clients with an IPS start date between the start of October 2019 and the end of February 2024. Clients are followed up for a period of 18 months.
The results presented here include all returned data, so it includes people with an IPS start date between the start of June 2023 and end of February 2024 who had not yet completed the full 18-month follow-up.
Consent and confidentiality
People accessing alcohol and drug treatment are asked for consent to share their information in line with the NDTMS consent and privacy notice. Part of this consent allows their information to be linked with other administrative data sets. For IPS clients, there is an additional level of consent to collect and share their National Insurance number and full postcode with HMRC through the IPS consent form. You can find the IPS privacy notice on the NDTMS documentation webpage.
After matching, HMRC anonymises the data to ensure that identifiable information is removed from the processed data returned to DHSC. The non-identifiable person ID and employer ID are both randomly created by HMRC to allow DHSC to differentiate between individuals and their different employments for analysis purposes only. These references are non-identifiable and do not represent any actual information on the clients.
Managing the data
The data sent to HMRC by DHSC, and the final linked anonymised data set returned by HMRC, are transferred through the HMRC Secure Data Exchange Service. The final linked data set is stored securely on DHSC servers and access is strictly limited to a small number of DHSC staff. The original DHSC data set is deleted after HMRC confirms receipt of the data, to ensure that the returned data cannot be matched back to the original data set. HMRC manually deletes the files it holds 3 months after it delivers the data to DHSC.
Outcomes
We included a range of employment outcomes, some of which reflect the IPS-AD study outcomes.
The main outcome was whether the client got a job during the 18-month period following the start of accessing IPS. We defined successful employment as working for at least one day.
The other outcomes during the 18-month period were:
- number of days of employment
- number of days to first job from enrolment in IPS
- length of longest held job
- working in a single job for at least 13 weeks
- income tax and National Insurance contributions
Follow-up period
The data returned to DHSC by HMRC is for a period of up to 18 months after the client’s enrolment in IPS. This means that the analytical end date is 18 months after IPS enrolment, or the date of data linkage for clients who have not completed the full 18-month follow-up. For this reason, we can only report findings up to 18 months after IPS enrolment for:
- the time-based outcomes that are calculated from start of employment (number of days employed, length of longest held job and working in a single job for at least 13 weeks)
- income tax and National Insurance contributions
We expect that most clients will continue their employment beyond the analytical end date, but we do not capture employment data beyond 18 months after enrolment in IPS. The reported averages for the outcomes above are limited by the 18-month cutoff and this does not mean clients stopped working after this period.
The data we sent to HMRC in December 2024 also included clients who started IPS between June 2023 and February 2024 and had not yet completed the full 18-month follow-up. At least 9 months had passed since they entered the IPS programme, ensuring that all clients who were included in the data linkage had an opportunity to get a job. However, we expect that some of these clients, who had not yet got a job, will achieve employment after this reporting period. We will include clients who have not completed the full 18-month follow-up period in future rounds of data linkage to capture any subsequent jobs.
The analysis presented in the main section of this report is based on data for the full group of 6,080 clients with matched and verified HMRC records. We also include a section just looking at outcomes for the 3,182 clients who had completed 18 months since their IPS enrolment date (the ‘follow-up complete’ group).
On average, clients included in this analysis of the full group had completed 492 days (16.4 months) of follow-up. Of the clients who had not completed the full 18-month follow-up, on average they had completed 431 days (14.4 months).
IPS clients
DHSC sent the details of 6,214 clients to HMRC. Of these, HMRC matched and verified 6,080 (98%) clients.
Of the client data returned by HMRC:
- 71% were men
- 18% were aged 16 to 29 years, 61% were aged 30 to 49 years and 22% were aged 50 years and over
- 38% were alcohol only users, 17% were opiate only users, 16% were non-opiate and alcohol users, 14% were non-opiate only users, 14% were opiate and crack users and 3% were crack without opiates users
- 44% had successfully completed and left alcohol and drug treatment
- 45% completed more than 12 months of alcohol and drug treatment
- 18% engaged with IPS for less than 2 months
- 36% received IPS in the 20% most deprived areas in England
- 52% had completed their 18-month follow-up
Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
IPS teams
Some IPS teams operate across consortiums of more than one local authority. HMRC matched and verified client records for 63 IPS teams, covering 81 local authorities.
This report includes rates of successful employment for IPS sites that had a total sample of 100 clients or greater returned by HMRC. This analysis is not standardised to account for differences in the size of the IPS team at each site.
Results
Successful employment
Over half (51%) of IPS clients successfully got a job during the up to 18-month follow-up. Rates of employment ranged from 36% among the opiates and crack group to 57% among the alcohol only group. The alcohol only group were statistically more likely to get a job than all other groups, and the opiates and crack group were statistically less likely to get a job than all other groups.
Figure 1: successful employment by substance group
| Substance group | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | 36% |
| Opiates without crack | 44% |
| Crack without opiates | 47% |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | 56% |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | 53% |
| Alcohol only | 57% |
Women were statistically more likely to get a job than men.
Figure 2: successful employment by sex
| Sex | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| Men | 50% |
| Women | 54% |
People aged 24 years and under were statistically more likely to get a job than those aged 25 years and over.
Figure 3: successful employment by age
| Age | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| 24 years and under | 62% |
| 25 years and over | 50% |
People who successfully completed treatment were statistically more likely get a job than all other groups.
Figure 4: successful employment by alcohol and drug treatment status
| Treatment status | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| In treatment | 43% |
| Successfully completed treatment | 60% |
| Unplanned exit | 47% |
People who were in alcohol and drug treatment for more than 12 months were statistically less likely to get a job than all other groups.
Figure 5: successful employment by time in alcohol and drug treatment
| Time in treatment | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | 57% |
| Up to 6 months | 57% |
| Up to 12 months | 56% |
| More than 12 months | 44% |
People who engaged with IPS for more than 2 months were statistically more likely to get a job than those who engaged for less than 2 months.
Figure 6: people engaged with IPS for more than 2 months
| Time engaged with IPS | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| More than 2 months | 53% |
| Less than 2 months | 43% |
Rates of employment ranged from 66% in Nottinghamshire to 41% in West London Alliance. West London Alliance is a consortium of 9 local authorities, which are Barnet, Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. Employment rates alone give an incomplete picture of performance and value for money, so comparisons by site should not be made until we publish data which will expand on this analysis.
Figure 7: successful employment by IPS site
| IPS site | Successful employment |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | 45% |
| Blackpool | 52% |
| Brighton and Hove | 51% |
| Cornwall and Torbay | 50% |
| Coventry and Warwickshire | 50% |
| Cumbria | 60% |
| Derbyshire | 46% |
| East Sussex | 64% |
| Essex, Thurrock and Southend | 46% |
| Kirklees | 56% |
| Lancashire | 58% |
| Leeds | 56% |
| Liverpool | 46% |
| Middlesborough and Redcar and Cleveland | 51% |
| Newcastle | 55% |
| Nottingham | 61% |
| Nottinghamshire | 66% |
| Oldham and Rochdale | 58% |
| Sheffield | 51% |
| South Tyneside and Gateshead | 49% |
| Southampton | 47% |
| St. Helens | 44% |
| Staffordshire | 52% |
| Stockton on Tees and Hartlepool | 50% |
| Wakefield | 53% |
| West London Alliance | 41% |
| Wirral | 60% |
Number of days from IPS enrolment to first job
The time from IPS enrolment to first job was on average 137 days (4.5 months). There were no statistically significant differences by substance group, age, time in alcohol and drug treatment or IPS engagement.
Figure 8: average time from IPS enrolment to first job by substance group
| Substance group | Average time from IPS enrolment to first job |
|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | 131 days |
| Opiates without crack | 141 days |
| Crack without opiates | 145 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | 136 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | 128 days |
| Alcohol only | 139 days |
Of the clients who got a job:
- 47% began employment in the first 3 months of follow-up
- 85% began employment by the end of month 9 when IPS support would typically end
Figure 9: time to first job by follow-up month
| Month post-enrolment | Number of clients achieving employment during month |
|---|---|
| 1 | 462 |
| 2 | 423 |
| 3 | 333 |
| 4 | 279 |
| 5 | 204 |
| 6 | 155 |
| 7 | 130 |
| 8 | 127 |
| 9 | 108 |
| 10 | 78 |
| 11 | 66 |
| 12 | 54 |
| 13 | 53 |
| 14 | 30 |
| 15 | 33 |
| 16 | 30 |
| 17 | 17 |
| 18 | 20 |
Number of days of employment
On average clients were employed for 271 days (8.9 months) across all their recorded jobs during follow-up.
The alcohol only group were statistically more likely to have a higher number of days employed than the crack without opiates, non-opiate (excluding crack) and opiates and crack groups. Women also had statistically higher days employed than men (286 compared with 264 days). People aged 25 years and over had statistically higher days employed than those aged 24 years and under (273 compared with 253 days).
Clients who did not successfully complete alcohol and drug treatment had statistically lower days employed (235 days) compared with those who were still in treatment (262 days) and those who had successfully completed treatment (289 days).
Clients who engaged with IPS for less than 2 months had statistically lower days employed (252 days) compared with those who were engaged with IPS for more than 2 months (274 days).
There were no statistical differences by time in alcohol and drug treatment.
Figure 10: average days employed by substance group up to 18 months
| Substance group | Average days employed |
|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | 255 days |
| Opiates without crack | 273 days |
| Crack without opiates | 198 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | 250 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | 271 days |
| Alcohol only | 286 days |
Length of longest held job
On average, clients had 2 jobs during the follow-up. The average length of longest held job was 231 days (7.6 months) during follow-up.
The alcohol only group were statistically more likely to stay in a job longer than the crack without opiates, non-opiate (excluding crack) and opiates and crack groups. Women were statistically more likely to stay in a job longer than men (247 compared with 224 days). People aged 25 years and over were statistically more likely to stay in a job longer than those aged 24 years and under (233 compared with 211 days).
Clients who did not successfully complete alcohol and drug treatment had a statistically shorter time in a job (195 days) compared with clients who:
- were still in treatment (227 days)
- had successfully completed treatment (246 days)
Clients who engaged with IPS for less than 2 months had statistically shorter time in a job than those who were engaged for more than 2 months (210 compared with 235 days).
There were no statistically significant differences by time in alcohol and drug treatment.
Figure 11: average length of longest held job by substance group up to 18 months
| Substance group | Average length of longest held job |
|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | 218 days |
| Opiates without crack | 237 days |
| Crack without opiates | 168 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | 206 days |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | 225 days |
| Alcohol only | 247 days |
Working in a single job for at least 13 weeks
Three-quarters of clients (74%) worked in a single job for at least 13 weeks.
The crack without opiates group were statistically less likely to work in a single job for at least 13 weeks than all other groups.
Women were statistically more likely to work in a single job for at least 13 weeks than men (78% compared with 73%).
Clients who successfully completed alcohol and drug treatment were statistically more likely to work in a single job for at least 13 weeks (79%), compared with clients who:
- were still in treatment (72%)
- had not successfully completed treatment (64%)
Clients who engaged with IPS for less than 2 months were statistically less likely to work in a single job for at least 13 weeks than those who engaged for more than 2 months (68% compared with 75%).
There were no statistically significant differences by age or time in alcohol and drug treatment.
Figure 12: proportion working in a single job for at least 13 weeks by substance group up to 18 months
| Substance group | Proportion working in a single job for at least 13 weeks |
|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | 69% |
| Opiates without crack | 77% |
| Crack without opiates | 56% |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | 70% |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | 75% |
| Alcohol only | 77% |
Income tax and National Insurance contributions
On average, clients paid £697 in income tax contributions and £1,260 in National Insurance contributions (combination of employee and employer) during follow-up. Contributions were made in the tax years 2019 to 2020 up to 2024 to 2025 depending on when the client entered IPS.
The crack without opiates group were statistically more likely to make lower income tax contributions, and the non-opiate (excluding crack) group were statistically more likely to make lower National Insurance contributions.
Women were statistically more likely to make lower income tax and National Insurance contributions than men (£595 compared with £745 in income tax and £1,045 compared with £1,359 in National Insurance). People aged 24 years and under were statistically more likely to make lower income tax and National Insurance contributions than those aged 25 years and over (£495 compared with £724 in income tax and £838 compared with £1,314 in National Insurance).
Clients who successfully completed alcohol and drug treatment were statistically more likely to make higher income tax and National Insurance contributions (£790 in income tax and £1,391 in National Insurance) compared with clients who:
- were still in treatment (£647 in income tax and £1,187 in National Insurance)
- had not successfully completed treatment (£528 in income tax and £1,016 in National Insurance)
There were no statistically significant differences by time in alcohol and drug treatment or IPS engagement.
Figure 13: average income tax and National Insurance contributions by substance group up to 18 months
| Substance group | Average National Insurance contributions | Average income tax contributions | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opiates and crack | £1,234 | £631 | £1,865 |
| Opiates without crack | £1,330 | £708 | £2,039 |
| Crack without opiates | £1,128 | £574 | £1,702 |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) | £1,090 | £580 | £1,669 |
| Non-opiate (excluding crack) and alcohol | £1,236 | £716 | £1,952 |
| Alcohol only | £1,323 | £754 | £2,077 |
Note: totals may not sum due to rounding.
Outcomes for follow-up complete group
The findings for the 3,182 clients who had completed 18 months of follow-up from IPS enrolment date (52% of the full group returned by HMRC) were similar to the full group. This is a considerable increase from the previous round of data linkage where 944 clients had completed the full 18-month follow-up. The rate of people getting a job for the follow-up complete group was slightly higher at 52% than the full group, and the proportion working in a single job for at least 13 weeks was also slightly higher at 77%.
Broadly, the findings were similar across outcomes by:
- sex
- age
- substance group
- alcohol and drug treatment status
- time in alcohol and drug treatment
- IPS engagement
Comparison with IPS-AD study
Compared with the IPS-AD study, IPS clients who had engaged in the programme since the study ended obtained substantially higher rates of getting a job (51%) compared with the IPS-AD:
- ‘intervention arm’ study participants receiving IPS (30%)
- ‘control arm’ study participants receiving standard employment support (25%)
For clients in the opiate without crack group who had engaged in the programme since the IPS-AD study ended, there was a marked improvement in the proportion who got a job. We saw 44% getting a job, compared with 23% of the IPS-AD intervention arm study participants.
The rates of working in a single job for at least 13 weeks were also higher for IPS clients (74%) compared with the IPS-AD intervention arm (42%) and control arm (42%) study participants. On average, IPS clients who got a job did so faster and were employed for longer than the IPS-AD study participants.
These findings have been replicated across 2 rounds of data linkage outcomes for IPS and were published in our previous report ‘IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes 2024’.
Main findings, strengths and limitations
Findings from the analysis
Over half (51%) of IPS clients got a job during the 18-month follow-up.
The alcohol only group had the highest rate of getting a job and were more likely to stay in a job longer than the other groups.
People who used opiates and/or crack had lower rates of getting a job. However, their rate of employment is higher than participants in the IPS-AD study. People who use opiates and/or crack typically have more complex needs and are likely to have been out of the employment market for longer. So, this is a positive result for these groups.
Where clients in the opiates without crack group got a job, the vast majority (77%) stay in a single job for at least 13 weeks and at a similar level to the alcohol only group. However, the crack without opiates group had the lowest level of working in a single job for at least 13 weeks at 56%.
Women were more likely to:
- get a job
- stay in a job longer
- work in a single job for at least 13 weeks
Women also made lower income tax and National Insurance contributions. The most likely explanation for this is higher levels of part-time working and caring responsibilities among women, and potentially lower average pay, but we do not have data to confirm this.
People aged 24 years and under had a higher rate of getting a job, but had a lower number of days employed, had shorter time in jobs and made lower income tax and national insurance contributions.
There was a clear association between positive alcohol and drug treatment outcomes and employment. Research evidence suggests that causality may go both ways, with recovery supporting employment and employment supporting recovery. Clients who successfully completed alcohol and drug treatment were more likely to:
- get a job
- work in a single job for at least 13 weeks
- have higher income tax and National Insurance contributions
People who were in alcohol and drug treatment for more than 12 months had a lower rate of getting a job, but had no differences on the other outcomes.
People who engaged with IPS for more than 2 months were more likely to:
- get a job
- have higher total days employed
- stay in a job longer and work in a single job for at least 13 weeks
The similarity of findings for people who have completed the full 18-month follow-up provides evidence for the reliability of the data of the larger full group. This is despite the high proportion of clients who had not completed their follow-up.
Compared with the findings of the IPS-AD study, the outcomes for IPS clients since have markedly improved across all outcomes. IPS clients now:
- achieve higher rates of getting a job and working in a single job for at least 13 weeks
- are employed for longer
- got a job faster than the IPS-AD study participants
Strengths and limitations of the analysis
There are a range of strengths and limitations associated with this analysis.
Confirming employment outcomes through HMRC data linkage is the gold standard verification method. The relatively large sample size and high match rate increases confidence in the reliability of the findings. The expansion of the IPS programme is now almost complete, and this returned sample represents 81 local authorities. It now covers a large proportion of England, providing representation across geographies, demographic patterns and labour market differences.
The findings of this round of data linkage are similar to the previous round published in our previous report ‘IPS for alcohol and drug dependence: data linkage outcomes 2024’ demonstrating consistency in IPS performance.
We included self-employment data in our analysis, but due to the timing of submission of income tax returns up to 9 months after the end of the tax year it is possible that we did not detect all self-employment during the follow-up. Also, HMRC cannot record working in the informal labour market or ‘cash in hand’ jobs, so these will also not be detected in our analysis.
The data sharing agreement between HMRC and DHSC does not permit information on a client’s employer, employment type or working hours to be shared. This restricts the conclusions we can draw, such as the proportion of IPS clients who work part-time, common employment types or employers and average earnings.
The returned data for this report shows that 3,182 clients have completed the 18-month follow-up. This sample size will increase during future rounds of data linkage and will help us to better analyse the time-dependent outcomes. However, the similarity between the findings for the follow-up complete group and the full group provides evidence for the reliability of the larger full group, and our methodological approach of including clients who had enrolled in IPS at least 9 months before the data linkage. This is despite the high proportion of clients who had not completed their full follow-up.