Discussion and conclusions
This paper has gone beyond existing work which examines the increased involvement
of the voluntary sector in the provision of publicly funded services, because in addition,
the provision of drug treatment services, as a result of government policy, has been a
rapidly expanding area of activity. Thus, in this study we have examined not only the
effect of the contracting environment, but also the effect of a significant expansion in
service provision. Overall then, how had these voluntary sector providers responded to
the challenges posed by the UK Government’s expansion programme for the provision
of drug treatment services, combined with the need to professionalise their people
management, in a contract climate where cost reduction was dominant?