A five-year combined drug and alcohol strategy for 2017-22 has been jointly produced by Kent Police and KCC Public Health on behalf of the Kent Drug and Alcohol Partnership (KDAP).
This strategy incorporates the current Police drug and alcohol strategy and the KCC led Kent alcohol strategy. This new Kent Drug and Alcohol Strategy has been developed on behalf of all KDAP partners. The decision to combine a strategy for both drugs and alcohol was taken in order to highlight the new complexities in both illegal and legal drug and alcohol use in Kent.
The five strategic themes in the new strategy are resilience, identification, early help & harm reduction, recovery and supply. The strategy went out for public consultation which was completed at the end of February 2017. This final version has now been completed and has taken into account comments from the consultation.
The strategy has been endorsed by the KDAP Board. The KDAP Board will receive a draft delivery plan in June/July 2017. Subject to endorsement by the Health Reform and Public Health Cabinet Committee and sign off from the Cabinet Member for Strategic Commissioning and Public Health, the new strategy and its delivery plan will be implemented from August 2017.
Decision type: Key
Reason Key: Affects more than two Electoral Divisions;
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Division affected: (All Division);
Notice of proposed decision first published: 12/06/2017
Decision due: Not before 12th Jul 2017 by Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Traded Services
Reason: In order that the proposed decision can be published for a minimum of 28 days, in accordance with statutory requirements
Lead member: Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Traded Services
Lead director: Andrew Scott-Clark
Department: Social Care, Health & Wellbeing
Contact: Jessica Mookherjee, Consultant in Public Health Tel: 0300 333 6382 Email: Jessica.Mookherjee@kent.gov.uk.
Consultees
This matter was discussed by Cabinet Committee on 30 June 2017.
This strategy has been jointly produced with Kent
Police and developed in partnership with the many stakeholders from
across Kent and organisations directly involved with addressing the
effects of drugs and alcohol across the County, including Public
Health Kent, Trading Standards and the
Kent Drug and Alcohol Partnership (KDAP).
An earlier draft of the strategy was open for formal consultation via the Kent County Council website from early January 2017 until late February 2017. A number of updates to the strategy have been made following feedback received. There were also a number of focus groups as part of the consultation process. These were conducted with offenders at HMP Elmley, Service users from East Kent, West Kent and Children and Young People’s Services and Mental Health Service Users. The draft strategy was also presented at various partnership meetings including Community Safety Partnerships, Health and Wellbeing Boards (County and Local), CCG Clinical Leadership Teams and Joint Kent Chiefs.
Financial implications: There are no financial implications to the development of this strategy other than to make best use of available commissioning resources across the health and social care economy.
Legal implications: None.
Equalities implications: Inequalities and vulnerable groups were considered during development of the strategy, and this is detailed in the strategy, along with how this will be incorporated into implementation. An EQIA and action plan has been developed.