More than £800k of funding has been allocated towards preventing drugs related deaths and crime in Nottinghamshire.
This is part of £80m of additional government funding for drug treatment which forms a portion of a £148m government funding package to help reduce crime in the UK.
The money will enhance drug treatment schemes in Nottinghamshire that target people leaving prison who may be at risk of drugs-related crime. More than £350k will go to Framework’s Edwin House in Nottingham, which provides medical detoxification treatment for county and city residents.
Nottinghamshire has a death rate from drug misuse of around 2.7 per 100,000 population. The national average in England is 4.7 per 100,000 population.
Nottinghamshire County Council is responsible for commissioning Change Grow Live, a national charity whose aim is to improve the lives and outcomes of people who struggle with substance misuse.
The additional funding of £810,472 will be split between:
£549,000 for a ‘universal’ allocation: to reduce drug-related deaths and improve access for people within the criminal justice system. Working with Change Grow Live to proactively engage people who are leaving prison and those within police custody and individually tailoring packages of treatment to their needs.
£358,531 for medically managed interventions: for inpatient detoxification unit at Framework’s Edwin House. This is part of a consortium bid with Nottingham City Council for the benefit of people living in the county and city.
Councillor Boyd Elliott, the Chair of Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, said: “Drugs misuse destroys lives. This money will make a huge difference to the lives of those who need the treatments and in turn will benefit the community through a reduction in associated crime rates.
“Although the Nottinghamshire rate of drug-related deaths is lower than the national average, we still need to bring this down further by commissioning providers like Change Grow Live to assertively work with people coming out of prison and supporting them with substance misuse treatment.
“This is a new approach and we will be working with criminal justice agencies such as Nottinghamshire Police and the Probation Service to identify people who may need support. By being proactive and supporting people coming out of prison and into the community, we hope this will in turn have a positive impact on reducing local crime figures.”
