Agenda item

Emily Parry-Harris (Director of Public Health), Andy Wright (Chief Superintendent) and Jess Brooks (Public Health Specialist) to present an update on the Combating Drugs Partnership

Jess Brooks, Public Health Specialist and Combatting Drugs Partnership Lead, presented an update on the Combatting Drugs Partnership with the aid of the following powerpoint presentation:-

 

Background

·        The Rotherham Combatting Drugs Partnership (CDP) was jointly Chaired by Rotherham Council’s Director of Public Health and South Yorkshire Police’s District Commander for Rotherham and has a vision to:

 

“Work together to combat illegal drug use in Rotherham – reducing crime, saving lives and challenging the notion of ‘recreational drug use’ which fuels a violent and exploitative market”

 

Membership

-        The Combatting Drugs Partnership was made up of strategic decision makers across key partner organisations involved in addressing the challenges of drug related harm.  These included but were not limited to:

·        Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC)

·        Rotherham Alcohol and Drugs Service (ROADS) provided by WithYou

·        South Yorkshire Police (SYP)

·        The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (formally South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office)

·        Probation Service Yorkshire and The Humber and Barnsley and Rotherham Probation Delivery Unit (PDU)

·        Voluntary Action Rotherham and the Rotherham Recovery Community

 

Aims

-           Work together to understand the local population and how both drugs and alcohol were causing harm in Rotherham

-           Identify challenges in the system and the changes needed to address them

-           Identify, consider and/or support external funding opportunities to enhance or increase the Partnership’s ability to deliver its responsibilities and objectives

-           Complete key tasks as set out by the Joint Combatting Drugs Unit (JCDU) – the Central Government cross-departmental body responsible for the Drug Strategy

 

Delivery Plan

-           Pursue – to reduce drug supply and related crime and bring perpetrators to justice

-           Protect – to protect those in treatment and recovery, their families and the wider community

-           Prevent – to stop individuals becoming involved in drugs and support recovery and reduce harm when they do

-           Prepare – to build community resilience to reduce the impact of drug harm

 

Prepare

        Objectives

-           Facilitate improved information sharing including with IT systems, increased intelligence and information sharing around exploitation of vulnerable people

-           Explore training needs across the system and equip workers by providing education for professionals to improve reporting, referrals and information sharing and aid in early identification.  Including communicating to workers the harmful impacts of drugs and alcohol

-           Develop combatting drugs communications and engagement approach aiming to reduce use and tackle stigma

 

Key Progress

-           CDP report for sharing key data on progress was refreshed and presented at each Partnership meeting

-           South Yorkshire Police Intelligence Reporting form had been promoted to partners to provide intel to disrupt organised crime groups

-           Drug and alcohol training offer expanded to include training on families, anti-stigma and bespoke training sessions for hospital teams

-           New workstream and resource for implementation of new Challenging Stigma work being developed in  collaboration with the Rotherham Recovery Community and learning for individuals with Lived Experience

 

Present

        Objectives

-           Develop continuity of care in criminal justice pathway including use of Court Orders, better prisoner release and connections with Probation Services

-           Develop whole family approach to support and break intergenerational cycles of substance use

-           Develop wider support offer and capacity for increased numbers for alcohol and drugs treatment/support, reducing drug related harm and impacts on wider community including an offer for drug users – increasing access to a wider range of services aimed at raising awareness of harm and early identification

 

Key Progress

-           Efforts were being made to focus on the quantity and quality of Community Treatment Orders (community sentences designed to help individuals address substance use issues and reduce the risk of re-offending) by working with Courts to maximise opportunities for those who were suitable and a review for the Court Orders with a focus on harm reduction

-           Drug and Alcohol Early Help Team had continued to support the identification of substance use in families by embedding screening tools in assessments and establishing Drug and Alcohol Champions working across Rotherham

-           Two new Drug and Alcohol School Workers in ROADs (the Drug and Alcohol Service) providing outreach to primary and secondary schools

-           New Drug and Alcohol Outreach Services at MESMAC (Sexual Health Services) had been supporting people in the community with advice and referrals

-           ROADs’ Outreach and Engagement had expanded including through a market stall in the Town Centre raising awareness and identification of drug and alcohol issues

 

Protect

        Objectives

-           Reduce drug related harm

-           Protect vulnerable people

-           Implement co-occuring conditions, pathways and improved psychological support.  Increasing access to physical and mental healthcare to promote long term recovery

-           Develop and implement recovery pathway including independent recovery community, housing and employment support

 

Key Progress

-           Availability of opioid overdose reversal drug, Naloxone, continued to be widened.  Police Officers had been trained and could carry Naloxone to respond to possible opiate overdoses and peer distribution of take home Naloxone was now in place

-           South Yorkshire-wide Emergency Plan created to help services and respond to the identification of harmful substances in the region

-           A number of systems in place including the Mental Health Community Connector Pathway with VAR and the Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioners to support those with mental health needs

-           The Rotherham Recovery Community continued to grow this year having several achievements including a consultation which had generated a plan for further development.  The Rotherham Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) was now established

 

Pursue

        Objectives

-           Develop an effective pursue response with partners

-           Develop increased focus on county lines-exploitation of children in line with Child Exploitation Strategy and target Organised Crime Groups which used most exploitive business/operational models with regards to child exploitation

-           Disrupt organised crime

 

Key Progress

-           A number of warrants had been executed and managed by appropriate trained officers under the supervision of an inspector working in conjunction with trained Drug Expert Witnesses within the Police as per ongoing work

-           Increase in skills and expertise with Drug Expert Witnesses and Financial Investigator training and support

-           Several operations, local and national, had been carried out resulting in arrests and seizures

 

Public Involvement

-           As well as increasing involvement on sub-groups and wider areas of work, Public Involvement was facilitated by the following:

·        Each Partnership meeting included a section on Public Voice and Lived Experience to ensure senior leaders were hearing directly from those impacted by drugs in our communities

·        Rotherham CDP had established that every 1 out of 4 meetings was led by the Recovery Community and focussed on a recovery related topic.  Most recently the Recovery Community hosted the CDP in November 2025, bringing in lived experience voices, the community consultation and future plans.  This had continued to generate a way forward for lived experience involvement and the future CDP plan would involve lived experience voice, including affected others, in a way that was relevant, accessible and supportive

·        The Combatting Drugs Partnership’s members also would attend the Rotherham Recovery Forum

 

John Leaver, Rotherham Lived Experience Recovery Organisation Chair, gave his own presentation to the Board focussing on the Rotherham Recovery Community:-

 

-        Commissioning work had been undertaken in Rotherham to bring together pre-existing organisations working in recovery with the ambition to develop into a standalone organisation – LERO.  It was a natural progression to become sustainable and deliver more

-        LERO still worked with VAR

-        The Chair’s role was to bring together those responsible for funding/statistics/data/outputs but still being mindful of the way it was being done and connect all those environments to the people the organisation was working with on a day-to-day basis

-        It was fresh and raw recognising that the people that were part of it had lived experience and was the best form of learning.  It was difficult for someone to transition and took a lot of work to support them into people who were able to work

-        It was important that LERO was led by people that needed it as well so it could adapt and react.  It was real people helping real people and would develop into sustainable activities and businesses to be reinvested

-        There was a gap between treatment and recovery.  LERO’s role was to try and further bridge that gap when people left treatment/came through addiction and were trying to navigate life beyond that.  This was a whole new challenge

-        Often when a person came out of treatment it was very clinical and formal i.e. not the environment for someone to thrive.  Making activities etc. as relaxed and informal as possible so that they felt comfortable was where you started to build consistency and start to see change

-        Activities were not just central Rotherham based

-        Everyone involved had their own challenge journey

-        LERO were getting the keys for their new premises very shortly and had successfully obtained CRC status.  It was important to recognise that they were not business people/academics/professionals and things did not always move as quickly as they would in other environments, however, it was progressing quite well

-        LERO’s ethos was reliability, relatability, honesty and community

 

Discussion ensued on the presentations with the following issues raised/clarified:-

 

-        The lived experience was central to what services needed to do in Rotherham

-        It was not just about saving money but people living rich lives and, if you got it right, it would save money e.g. hospitals less busy etc

-        ROADs had 2 School Outreach Workers as well as the Public Health Team  linking in and working with schools

-        The “public voice” did span quite a wide age range because it tried to address anyone that was affected by drugs.  ROADs did have an involvement process for young people but acknowledgement that it was probably under represented with regard to the younger voice

-        Drug and alcohol issues were complicated and multi-faceted with lots of opportunity for partnership working and different ways to better involve them

-        Work was currently taking place but would benefit from closer work with other agencies such as the local Drug Information Services, the Drug and Alcohol Death process and understanding the intelligence of harmful substances that were leading to death in Rotherham

-        Stopping people becoming addicted in the first place would improve outcomes.  Work was taking place with the current provider to raise awareness in schools; having conversations early about what harm addiction to drugs and alcohol did putting it in the context of people’s lives. 

-        In Rotherham there was a particular issue with problematic alcohol use – not alcohol use necessarily leading to death but leading to levels of harm

-        Naloxone was making a real difference

-        Removal of the stigma was really impactful

-        It was difficult to measure the prevalence of drug users.  There was more updated information for the estimated number of opiate or crack cocaine users in Rotherham but it was only an estimate.  There would be more information in the refreshed Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

-        Discussion would take place outside of the meeting with regard to the possibility of a Co-Chair being a person with lived experience

 

It was noted that anyone interested in having Naloxone available in their buildings should contact Jess to discuss how that could happen.

 

Resolved:-  That the progress made by the Combatting Drugs Partnership be noted.