Councillor Lucia das Neves, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, and Wellbeing, approved the acceptance of significant grant funding for drug and alcohol treatment and smoking cessation services. The meeting also saw the delegation of authority to the Director of Public Health to award contracts related to these grants.

Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant (DATRIG)

Councillor das Neves approved the acceptance of the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant (DATRIG) for the 2025/26 financial year, amounting to £3,241,594. This grant consolidates previous funding streams, including the Substance Misuse Supplemental Treatment and Recovery Grant (SSMTRG), the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant (RSDAG), and the Inpatient Detoxification Grant (IDG). The DATRIG aims to enhance the quality of treatment and recovery systems, with a focus on reducing attrition rates, improving treatment progress, supporting sustained recovery, and decreasing mortality.

To ensure swift contract awards and mitigate service gaps, authority was delegated to the Director of Public Health to award contracts pertinent to this grant. These contracts will be for individual values between £500,000 and £2,000,000. The decision to accept the grant and delegate this authority was made due to the late notification of the funding, with existing contracts due to expire in March 2025. The council has seen a 20% increase in residents accessing drug and alcohol treatment in 2024/25, reversing a trend of decline. The report highlighted the significant unmet treatment need for opiate and crack cocaine users in Haringey, as well as for those with dependent alcohol consumption. Previous use of the SSMTRG has led to increased numbers in treatment, with specific initiatives for non-opiate users and alcohol services. The RSDAG has been instrumental in establishing a dedicated rough sleeping substance misuse treatment team, which has seen increased referrals and engagement.

Additional Funding for Stop Smoking Service

Approval was also granted to accept £338,387 in additional funding from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to enhance Haringey's smoking cessation services for 2025/26. This funding is part of the government's Smoke-Free 2030 ambition. Of this amount, £260,000 will be used to commission additional smoking cessation services, with the remaining £78,387 allocated for an in-house Smoking Cessation Project Officer and contributions to the London Stop Smoking digital app.

To facilitate the rapid implementation of these enhanced services, authority was delegated to the Director of Public Health to accept future funding (up to 2028/29) and to vary existing contracts or approve new ones. Specifically, the existing contract for the Integrated Lifestyle Change Programme, delivered by Haringey GP Group Limited (trading as Haringey GP Federation), will be varied to incorporate the enhanced smoking cessation services. This variation will increase the contract's value by £260,000, bringing the total to £4,838,800. This approach was chosen over a new tender process due to the short timeframe and the uncertainty of future funding beyond 2025/26. The current provider has demonstrated success in increasing the number of smokers supported and successfully quitting since receiving previous additional funding in 2024/25. The report highlighted that smoking prevalence in Haringey is higher than the London and England averages, particularly among those in routine and manual occupations, and that smoking costs Haringey an estimated £249 million per year.