New contracts plan to tackle £264m substance abuse bill across Lincolnshire

A report before councillors said tackling substance misuse costs Lincolnshire services a staggering £264 million each year, including the demands placed on health, social care, prison, law enforcement and emergency services.

The council is currently looking to recommission its substance misuse treatment and recovery services.

The latest meeting of Lincolnshire Council’s adults and community wellbeing scrutiny committee provided an opportunity for councillors to voice their concerns and suggestions.

Councillors feared current efforts were only “scratching the surface” of the problem and felt more needed to be done to tackle the issue head-on.

Coun Trevor Young, Lincolnshire Council member for Gainsborough Trent, said: “It feels like a tsunami is going to hit us eventually, it is a major problem.”

He compared the situation with the mental health crisis a decade ago, expressing frustration over the difficulty in signposting people to services around substance misuse.

“The fact it’s discreet is an issue… It should be out there openly,” he ssaid.

Coun Tracey Carter called for a rehabilitation centre in Lincolnshire in the face of these costs.

“It’s ridiculous that alcohol-related issues and deaths and crime costs £264m. We should really have a rehab centre in Lincolnshire now, we absolutely should.”

She said the new contract was a “slight improvement” but “doesn’t go far enough”.

The committee agreed that spending on substance misuse treatment is an investment in people and that more funding may be needed to adequately address the issue.

Coun Karen Lee said: “This is an investment in people.”

The council is proposing two new contracts to tackle the issue.

The first is for a countywide integrated treatment and recovery service including drug and alcohol treatment for adults and young people, Stay Safe prevention, and lived experience recovery service delivery.

The second is for a separate specialist family and affected others support service for children, young people, and adults.

The report revealed 3.7 per cent of children in Lincolnshire live with an adult that misuses substances, leading to a higher likelihood of these children entering the criminal justice system and experiencing poor health.

About 7,000 people are currently being treated for alcohol misuse, while just under 4,000 are being treated for opiates and crack cocaine alone under drugs help.

The committee also discussed the financial implications of substance misuse. For every £1 spent on substance misuse treatment, £4 is saved.

This could mean the £5,437,652 budget the council puts aside for the contracts will create an estimated £21,750,608 return on investment.

The new contracts are set to commence from April 1, 2024.

The council’s approach is designed to provide maximum flexibility and responsiveness to potential demand fluctuations, legislative and external funding changes during the proposed contract term.

Bosses hope that the reconfigured approach will place Lincolnshire in a good position to respond to the guidance from the government’s 10-year National Drug Strategy, From Harm to Hope.