Agenda item

Jonathan Bowden, Advanced Public Health Practitioner (South Tees Public Health) and Chief Inspector Jonathan Tapper (Cleveland Police) will be in attendance to provide a briefing on Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery).   

The Council’s Advanced Public Health Practitioner and Chief Inspector Tapper from Cleveland Police were in attendance at the meeting to provide an update in respect of Project ADDER and the impact that this national announcement would have in relation to the Panel’s current review on the topic of Opioid Dependency. The Panel was advised that on 20 January 2021 the Government had announced a £148m investment in an intensive, whole system approach to tackling the problem of illegal drugs. In addition a further £28m of funding had been made available for ‘Project ADDER’ (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery), which combined targeted and tougher policing with enhanced treatment and recovery services.

The aim of Project ADDER was to bring together partners including the police, local councils and health services. The project would be funded for 3 years in 5 areas with some of the highest rates of drug misuse: Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Swansea Bay. It was noted that Middlesbrough had the potential to access £4.8m of funding between 2020/21 and the end of March 2022. Over a period of just over two years, the project aimed to deliver reductions in the:

• rate of drug-related deaths

• drug-related offending

• prevalence of drug use

The interventions due to be funded through project ADDER were outlined in the interventions table provided at Appendix 1 of the submitted report. It was emphasised that it was reinvigorating to have the opportunity to look at what additional provision could be invested in. It was advised that Cleveland Police had operated the Heroin and Crack Cocaine Action Area (HACAA) and it was very much a case of delivering as much as possible in partnership. In terms of the other areas selected for Project ADDER Middlesbrough had developed excellent synergy with the leaders in other areas and communication was taking place outside of national meetings in order to make the most of this opportunity. In addition excellent relationships had been developed with Home Office (HO) and Public Health England (PHE) colleagues and the interventions reflected national strategy. It was advised that Project ADDER would effectively run from 1 April 2021 until the end of March 2023. Capacity had been lost over recent years, particularly in relation to prevention and early intervention services, and Project ADDER would provide the opportunity to move a really good, strong and focussed approach upstream. Previously the focus had been intervening at the crisis end but this level of investment would allow lower level interventions to take place.

Chief Inspector Tapper advised that Chief Inspector Scott Cowie was currently taking a report for approval that would hopefully enable frontline Police Officers to carry Nasal Naloxone kits, which was very much welcomed by the Panel. There was also plans to locate Naloxone kits in key areas with guidance provided, as well as Nasal Naloxone kits. Another key piece of work was focussed on addressing the increasing prevalence of cocaine use in the area. Evidence from around the world had shown that substitute prescribing, which previously had not been a route open to clinical partners, could offer real benefits and work would be undertaken in respect of this option. A dedicated transformation worker for vulnerable females would also be employed and the Hospital and Intervention Liaison Team (HILT) would return to James Cook Hospital after having lost that service for the last 2 years.   

Reference was made to the positive work undertaken in Blackpool in respect of the Jobs, Friends and Houses (JFH) project, which had been very much focused on prison leavers and had seen some really positive results. Professor Best had been heavily involved in that work and the leads for Project ADDER in Middlesbrough were keen to replicate some of those initiatives.

In terms of the secondary housing proposals it was explained that often individuals could experience difficulties in moving from the recovery community into longer term accommodation. One of the possible solutions was based on the Oxford House principles, an American initiative, that enabled people in recovery to live collectively and provide support to one another in their recovery journey. With regard to a capital investment in such a facility it was advised that the team would be looking for a minimum of an 8 bedded facility. Depending on an individual’s recovery journey they may remain there for a period of between 6 months and 2 years.

The panel expressed the view that it was really pleased that the Council and Cleveland Police had collectively secured the funding for the project and congratulated everyone concerned. This was an exciting project and the Panel was fully supportive of making it a success.

AGREED that the information provided be included in the Panel’s final report on the topic of Opioid Dependency: What happens next? and the points put forward by Members be included in the drafting of the Panel’s conclusions and recommendations.