Issue - meetings

Paul Scott (Associate Director and Consultant in Public Health) to present the strategy

(20 minutes)

Celia Lasheras gave a presentation on the Drug and Alcohol Strategy as summarised below:

Alcohol and Drug Abuse impacted on a wide range of local priorities:

·  Health, Wellbeing and Social Care

·  Prosperity and Attainment

·  Criminal Justice

National Strategy:

·  From Harm to Hope: A 10-year Drugs Plan to Cut Crimes and Save Lives was published by the Central Government in December 2021. The strategy committed the whole of government and public services to work together to:

o  Break drug supply chain

o  Deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system

o  Achieve a shift in the demand for recreational drugs

·  The national Alcohol Strategy also committed to combine nation-wide interventions and policies with locally developed approaches to reduce harmful drinking and the impact on the population.

Funding for local areas:

·  Supplemental Grant Funding (2022 – 2025) £950,438. Supplementary to the treatment grant, which would help improve B&NES drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems.

·  RSDATG (2022 – 2024) £1,393,508. Focussed on improving access and engagement of rough sleepers or those at risk of rough sleeping engaging with drug and alcohol treatment.

Translating national strategy to local needs

·  High levels of drug and alcohol related hospital admissions

·  High levels of people not in treatment

·  Drug-related death rate now above national average

·  Increasing complexity (mental health and social needs)

·  An ageing treatment population with increasing long-term conditions

·  Children in need assessments identify parental substance use disorder as a factor (21-23%)

Development of the Strategy

·  B&NES Drug and Alcohol Partnership Group

·  Consultations:

o  Online consultation for stakeholder networks

o  Focus groups with adult service users and front-line workers

o  Online and paper feedback from young people with P28

o  Stakeholder events at Bath Council in July and September

o  Engagement events with housing, education, treatment services

o  Strategic forums

·  Multi-agency collaborative work

Core Vision:

·  To work together to enable people from B&NES to grow up and live free from the harms of substance use.

Core Aims:

·  To focus on prevention alongside early intervention, and support those that experience difficulties with substance use by having an effective treatment and recovery support system.

Priorities:

1.  Reduce demand for substances in the B&NES population

2.  Support more adults and young people to access and benefit from treatment and recovery services

3.  Prevent and reduce harms from drugs and alcohol, including preventing drug and alcohol-related deaths

4.  Support the health and social needs of adults and young people with complex lives

Next Steps:

1.  Action planning to deliver the strategy (in process)

2.  Implementation will be overseen by the Bath and North East Somerset Drug and Alcohol Partnership with supporting governance

3.  Outcomes for monitoring the strategy and action plan will be informed by national guidance (awaited 2022), with locally agreed indicators informed by the priorities and data discussed

The Board were asked to champion the strategy within their organisations to ensure that it did not sit in isolation to other work programmes.

The Board RESOLVED to;

1.  Approve the B&NES Drug and Alcohol  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34