Agenda item

Joint report of the Corporate Director of People and Director of Public Health

Helen Johnston, Consultant in Public Health, presented a report on the proposed use of funding received from the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) under the Rough Sleeping, Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant (RSDATG) scheme. The following points were discussed:

(a)  the allocation for the ring-fenced RSDATG was first awarded in Autumn 2021, with funding allocated until March 2023. The OHID has subsequently confirmed an increased allocation within 2022/23, and a further allocation for 2023/24. The increased grant will be used in line with the existing spending plans, and within the current services in place, to ensure that vulnerable people receive the right treatment;

(b)  the service has an embedded trauma-based approach to delivery, engaging with vulnerable people to seek to address contributing factors such as childhood trauma. There is a strong, integrated focus on severe multiple disadvantage, and mental health requirements are addressed alongside the physical health needs;

(c)  the existing contracts will be extended, and work is underway to seek to future-proof future commissioning so that there is effective provision within contracts for their extension in the event of additional funding becoming available. It is important that the frameworks used enable the commissioning of the right provider at the right time, as funding opportunities arise;

(d)  in terms of budgeting in the medium- to long-term, it is important that the right data is collected and analysed to seek to understand the impact of one-off funding like the RSDATG on future budget pressures within services. This would enable more effective budget forecasting and planning to take place for the service if the RSDATG provision ends at the current cut-off in March 2025;

(e)  the Committee considered that it is vital for there to be a strong Public Health involvement in the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Partnership, to ensure that an effective partnership approach is taken to addressing joint issues. It advised that the ability for citizens to access early support in addressing trauma and when at risk of homelessness is important, with preventative approaches leading to better outcomes, particularly when there are close links with the community and voluntary sector for service delivery. The Committee noted that it is also important that support remains accessible to people once they have been housed, following a period of homelessness.

Resolved:

(1)  to approve the receipt of funding of up to a total of an additional £1,284,042 from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, for the delivery of a range of additional drug and alcohol treatment activity for people sleeping rough (or at risk of sleeping rough) to 31 March 2024;

(2)  to approve the spend of £71,221 to increase substance misuse commissioning staffing resource, in line with the grant conditions;

(3)  to approve the spend of £546,725 from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 via a contract variation to the Nottingham Recovery Network contract for the provision of substance misuse treatment services, in accordance with Article 18.99 of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules;

(4)  to approve the spend of £665,096 from 1 July 2023 to 31 March 2024 within the newly commissioned substance misuse treatment services (for which authority to develop a model has been delegated to the Director for Public Health through a previous decision of the Commissioning and Procurement Executive Committee on 12 July 2022).

·  Reasons for the decision

In May 2021, the Council was invited to apply for funding through the RSDATG scheme for services to be delivered in 2021/22 and 2022/23, receiving funding of £1,016,044 to 31 March 2023. In April 2022, it was confirmed that the scheme would be extended until the end of March 2025. The Council was invited to undertake a review of its current staffing model and associated project costs to deliver the scheme, and to submit a revised proposal for a period of 21 months (1 July 2022 to 31 March 2024). In July 2022, the Council received notification of its allocation for 2022/23 and 2023/24, receiving an additional £1,283,042 in funding.

·  Other options considered

To not accept the additional funding from the RSDATG scheme: this option is rejected on the basis that to not take receipt of the funding will lose the opportunity to assist more people to recover from drug and alcohol use and to move towards settled accommodation.

To procure activity for service delivery from 1 July 2022 to 31 March 2023 through a new competitive tender: this option is rejected on the basis that the activity to be funded is to be integrated within existing provision, in order to improve the outcomes for rough sleepers. The existing service has been assessed as performing well and delivery of the additional activity funded through the grant scheme under the infrastructure of the existing service will offer value for money by avoiding duplication of these arrangements. The variation of existing contracts will also allow for the immediate mobilisation of the programme, in order to maximise the use of funds awarded by the OHID. This activity will be integral to the newly-commissioned substance misuse services, which will go live in July 2023 and, as such, will be awarded via competitive tender.