Nottinghamshire Insight

Substance use refers to people regularly using large amounts of, or becoming dependent on, drugs and/or alcohol. It includes the use of both legal and illegal drugs. Anyone could be at risk of becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol during their lives. One of the most common causes is experience of trauma, especially in childhood. Some people use drugs or alcohol as a way to help them cope with this trauma, but then find it hard to stop.

Substance use can lead to many different health and social issues and has enormous health and social care financial costs.  It is often linked with poor physical and mental health. The avoidable and unfair differences in health between different groups of people are called health inequalities. We know that people who are dependent on drugs and/or alcohol are often more affected by health inequalities.

Drug and alcohol dependency can be linked with problems with education, training, work and housing.  It is also sometimes linked with anti-social behaviour and crime that negatively affects individuals, families and communities.

Our Vision

Nottinghamshire County Council’s vision is to prevent and reduce substance use and related problems through working with other organisations and using the best available evidence of what works. Through this, we want to improve the quality of life for people who live, work and visit Nottinghamshire and reduce health inequalities.

From Harm to Hope

In December 2021 the Government published a national drug strategy, ‘from harm to hope’. The strategy has three priorities:

1. Reducing the supply of drugs
2. Improving the quality of drug and alcohol treatment services and increasing the number of people they can support
3. Preventing people from becoming dependent on drugs and alcohol.

Nottinghamshire County Council has added a fourth priority which focuses on reducing health inequalities in people who are dependent on drugs and alcohol. We have also created a local Partnership, which brings together lots of different services including Nottinghamshire Police, the NHS and Change Grow Live.

The Partnership has its own local strategy and plan. The plan sets out things the Partnership will do to achieve the four priorities.

Below you can find a range of national and local information relating to drug and alcohol use:

JSNA Chapters:

• Substance Misuse: Young people and adults (2022)
• Domestic Abuse (2019)
• Health and Homelessness (2019)
• Mental health (adults and older people, 2017)

Local Info:

• Nottinghamshire From Harm to Hope Health Needs Assessment Exec Summary
• Nottinghamshire From Harm to Hope Health Needs Assessment

  National Documents:

• From harm to hope: A 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives
• Guidance for local delivery partners - National Outcomes Framework

Datasets:

• Adult drinking habits in Great Britain (Office for National Statistics)
• Alcohol-related deaths in the UK (Office for National Statistics)
• Drug misuse in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics)
• Deaths related to drug poisoning, England and Wales (Office for National Statistics)