Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2025.
Office for National Statistics (ONS); 2025.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/drugmisuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2025
[An overview of the extent and trends of illicit drug use. Data are from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Release date: 11 December 2025.]
Freely available online
Category: Uncategorized
Report
Cultivating Cultural Recovery Pathways for Black and Asian Communities in Scotland.
Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP); 2026.
https://www.shaap.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Cultivating-Recovery-Pathways-for-Black-and-Asian-Communities-in-Scotland-Event-Report-1.pdf
[This report calls for a set of interconnected actions to make recovery pathways culturally responsive and equitable. Central to this vision is the development of integrated community hubs that combine housing, health, family support, and addiction recovery in welcoming, non-clinical spaces. Cultural safety must be embedded across all services through mandatory cultural humility training and
anti-racist, trauma-informed practice.]
Freely available online
Annual Report
National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) : Annual Report 2026.
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP); 2026.
https://www.hqip.org.uk/resource/ncish-ref701/
[This latest report from the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health,(NCISH) found that there were 18,602 suicides by patients in the UK and Jersey over 2013-2023, an average of 1,691 deaths per year (26% of all general population suicides).]
Freely available online
Report
Community Mental Health Services: Fourth Report of Session 2024–26.
House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee; 2026.
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmselect/cmhealth/566/report.html
[This report says that many people experience unacceptably long waits to access care, are discharged without ongoing support, and are denied care because they do not meet arbitrary thresholds. The Committee wants to see a 24/7 Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre in every community. But it says that the chances of this are threatened by short-term funding cycles, lack of digital interoperability, workforce shortages, and unclear plans for national scale-up of 6 pilot centres.]
Freely available online
Guidance
Guidance on good quality specialist community psychology services for people with learning disabilities.
British Psychological Society (BPS); 2025.
https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/report-guideline/bpsrep.2025.rep191
[This guidance says what good community psychology services should look like for adults with
learning disabilities. It’s designed to help psychologists and other professionals, service providers and commissioners. It may also help people with learning disabilities and their families and carers if they need to know what should be in psychology services.]
Freely available online
Learning Disabilities & Autism
The latest Learning Disabilities & Autism bulletin is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/learning-disability-autism/2026/01/27-january-2026-2/
In this edition:
- Symptom change in depression and anxiety during psychological therapy for autistic adults
- Influence of posture during mastication on body composition and nutritional intake in individuals with Down syndrome
- Autism Act: government response to Lords Select Committee report
- NSPCC produces new resources on puberty and learning disabilities
- Demand for occupational therapy mounts due to multiple and complex long-term conditions
- Study now recruiting: Inclusive Talk
- Plus much more
Please let me know if you think there are other people who would benefit from receiving this and I will add them to the mailing list.
Thank you
Depression & Anxiety Bulletin
The latest Depression & Anxiety Bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service is ready for you to view at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/depression-anxiety/2026/02/2-february-2026/
In this edition:
- Supporting student mental health after natural disasters: What role can schools play?
- Long-term effectiveness and side-effects of intranasal esketamine in treatment-resistant
depression: real-world, single-arm study of over 100 sessions
- Epidemiologic features of depression and anxiety among homeless adults with healthcare
access problems in London, UK: descriptive cross-sectional analysis
- Are play and screen time associated with British preschoolers’ mental health? Cross-sectional
findings from the British Preschool Children’s Play Survey
- Plus much more
Please let us know if there are other people who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin.
Suicide Prevention Bulletin
The latest Suicide Prevention and Self Harm bulletin from Mersey Care Evidence and Library Service can now be viewed at https://www.evidentlybetter.org/bulletins/suicide-prevention/
This webpage features key links and emerging reports about suicide prevention.
In this issue:
- Generating actionable insights to support point-of-care suicide risk decision-making in a safety-net healthcare system: a machine learning approach to predicting dynamic risk of intentional self-harm
- Child and Family Characteristics as Predictors of the Severity of Self-injurious Behaviours in Autistic Children and Adolescents
- Initial Suicide‐Related Disclosure Characteristics, Motivations, and Outcomes Based on Sexual Orientation
- Translational Needs: Informing Tools to Close the Knowledge‐to‐Practice Gap in Suicide Prevention
- Plus much more
Please let me know if there are any other colleagues who you think might benefit from receiving this bulletin
LIBRARY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY
Please see our February newsletter. Please use the direct links to support and resources, in the image below.
Gambling awareness update and new research insights
Several new reports published in 2025 offer important insight into gambling related harm and how services, communities and systems can respond more effectively.
A synthesis report from GambleAware shares learning from a three year national marketing campaign focused on reducing stigma around gambling harm. The findings highlight the value of open conversation, non judgemental language and clear routes to support in helping people feel able to seek help earlier.
Another report from the Tavistock Institute showcases impactful practice across joined up local systems. Drawing on nine case studies from England, Scotland and Wales, it demonstrates how stronger partnership working can create more integrated and accessible support for people affected by gambling related harms.
Research led by the University of Brighton focuses on gambling and gambling harms within LGBTQ plus communities. The findings explore how experiences of discrimination, mental health challenges and substance use can intersect with gambling behaviour, and underline the importance of inclusive and culturally sensitive support.
Finally, the State of the Nation report from GambleAware brings together evidence on gambling harms among children and young people in Great Britain. It highlights patterns of risk, the influence of digital environments, and the need for prevention, education and early intervention.
Together, these resources offer valuable learning for anyone working in mental health, public health, education or community services, and reinforce the importance of compassionate, evidence based approaches to reducing gambling harm.
All reports are freely available via the GambleAware publication library: Publication Library – Gambling Research, Evidence & Statistics