Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) is a programme which aims to support individuals with complex needs by joining up data across government to ensure policies and services are grounded on the best evidence.

Led by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), BOLD is a collaboration between Welsh Government, Public Health Wales (PHW), Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Funded by HM Treasury’s Share Outcomes Fund, BOLD runs until March 2025.

BOLD consists of four data and analysis pilot projects:

• Reducing homelessness
• Supporting victims of crime
• Reducing reoffending
• Reducing substance misuse

The Welsh Substance Misuse Pilot

In Wales, colleagues from Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and SAIL Databank work closely with ADR Wales to undertake an ambitious analytical programme of work focused on substance misuse.

Under the BOLD programme, Ministry of Justice datasets have been successfully incorporated into the SAIL Databank, linking justice together with Welsh health, social care, education and population data for the first time.

Using this wealth of linked data, the BOLD Substance Misuse Wales research focusses on the following areas:

• Missed opportunities for prevention of escalation to problematic substance misuse
• Effectiveness of substance misuse treatment
• Intergenerational effects of substance misuse in households
• Pathways for those sentenced to community treatment requirements and outcomes
• Children looked after and experiences of substance misuse
• Interaction between substance misuse and homelessness