The NTA would like to thank all those who responded to us as part of this user engagement exercise. In total there were 55 responses received. The a spreadsheet containing all the responses is available to download.

The general tone of the responses was positive to all of the proposals made. However, there were some that attracted little additional comment, and others where a number of very useful suggestions were made, which we will seek to incorporate in future reports. 

The key messages from this exercise are summarised below.

• Over 95% of responses agreed with the proposal to include some information about the length of time in treatment in the National Statistics. A number of responses suggested that this would information should be contextualised (e.g. further analysis by drug/age), chiefly so that the data would not be used inappropriately for performance management.
• There were a number of suggestions concerning the presentation of the data relating to time in treatment. The most common suggestion was that the table should include a category of 5+ years.
• About 95% of responses indicated support for the idea that there should be better contextual information in the report relating to treatment completions.
• About 90% of responses indicated support for the proposal to provide detail on completions by treatment pathway and main drug. However, there were a large number of comments suggesting further ways of analysing data to provide additional context. In particular, the way in which multiple modalities are reported was of concern.
• Almost 90% of responses agreed with the proposal to have information about re-presentation rates in the report. There were a number of responses that indicated that this would need a careful explanation and presentation in the report.
• About 95% of responses agreed with the proposal to include a table that identifies what proportion of those leaving treatment in the previous year have now returned. Many responses suggested additional analysis, including breaking down the data by main drug, subsequent referral source, exit reason from previous episode, tier discharged from, agency, housing and employment status and whether or not a client has been to prison.
• About 90% of responses indicated strong support for the publication of TOP data.
• A number of comments were received concerning the TOP categories to report against. There were calls to include, and to make sure not to include data on criminal behaviour. Some providers responded that they were concerned this data would be used to unfairly hold them to account.

The above will be used to guide changes to the content of the annual National Statistics report. The next scheduled publication of this will be on 6th October 2011.