Croydon has seen tangible benefits from the funding allocated through various avenues such as the 10-year drug strategy, the Supporting People: Supporting People Multiple Needs and Rough Sleeping grant, as well as smaller grants specifically designated for drugs, alcohol, and treatment. This case study forms part of the publication, Two years on: a progress review of ‘From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’.
Introduction
Additionally, a separate housing grant aimed at addressing multiple needs and rough sleeping has contributed to the region's efforts. Despite these positive injections of funding, there's a sense of urgency in aligning actions with the key performance indicators (KPIs) outlined in the grants. This sometimes leads to a constant pursuit of grants to ensure continuity in recruitment and workforce maintenance, all while navigating the demands of quarterly reporting requirements, which carry significant administrative responsibility.
Funding cycles and financial pressures
Croydon acknowledges the challenges posed by the annual funding cycles, recognising their impact on partnership planning timelines and the need to establish realistic plans within a short timeframe. A significant aspect of the strategy's success hinges on effective recruitment and training, underscoring the necessity of securing sustainable funding guarantees to support these efforts. However, there are limitations on how grant funds can be utilised to establish broader support functions crucial for initiating and sustaining essential processes.
Croydon's status under section 114 imposes an additional layer of complexity on its already challenging recruitment endeavours. The heightened financial scrutiny further slows down the recruitment processes for key roles. Moreover, the competitive recruitment landscape in Greater London exacerbates the situation, with multiple areas vying for the same roles from a limited pool of candidates within a constrained time frame. While the ongoing work has yielded positive impacts, there is a recognition that greater flexibility in reporting requirements and spending stipulations could enhance efficiency and enable more effective allocation of resources.
Recommendations for central coordination
Croydon views the national government's approach and coordination of the strategy as a positive development. However, the borough emphasises the importance of flexibility at the local level to ensure that the specific needs of each area are adequately addressed. This local flexibility is seen as essential for tailoring interventions and initiatives to best serve the unique challenges and circumstances of Croydon's community.
At a central national level, Croydon recommends that clear outcomes be outlined, while advocating for support from the central government to remove barriers to successful implementation. The borough emphasises the importance of establishing clear communication structures to strengthen the interface between local and national levels, facilitating effective collaboration. While local partnership working is improving, the short timescales to meet targets can sometimes result in each borough focusing solely on its own priorities, leading to siloed working. Moreover, given the high number of councils in close proximity in London, there is a risk of duplication when liaising with local treatment services, the police, and prison services. Croydon suggests that a more joined-up approach across London would increase the scale of what is possible with the strategy and enable more effective tackling of issues across boroughs.
Skills and recruitment
Balancing the goal of increasing numbers in treatment with maintaining the quality of a world-class treatment service presents a significant challenge, as it requires adequate resources and capacity. While increasing treatment numbers is a positive objective, recruiting and retaining qualified personnel to deliver these services is the practical enabler. In Croydon, the core challenge lies in recruitment rather than increasing treatment numbers. Therefore, it is essential to make the sector attractive and stable from an employment perspective. Understanding the drivers for why individuals enter this line of work, as well as the reasons for their departure, is crucial. Croydon recognises the potential value that a national recruitment strategy to support local recruitment efforts could provide.
Synthetic drugs
Croydon has observed local increases in the use of nitazines, which have led to some overdoses. In response, efforts are underway to strengthen collaboration with the police to enable quicker responses to developments at the street level, which are constantly evolving. This proactive approach aims to address emerging drug trends and mitigate associated risks more effectively.
Croydon views the mandated combating drugs partnerships as a positive development facilitated by the strategy, as such structures were not previously in place. This framework has enhanced the borough's ability to address drug-related issues more effectively. However, there remains a need to further strengthen ownership among partners and ensure clarity regarding roles and responsibilities to optimise the strategy’s impact.