Ansaf Azhar, Director of Public Health at Oxfordshire County Council has taken on the role of Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for Oxfordshire’s new Combatting Drugs Partnership (CDP).

This partnership works on implementing the 10-year national drug strategy named ‘From Harm to Hope’. This strategy was published by the government in December 2021 as a response to independent reviews led by Dame Carol Black. It highlights three core national priorities:

• Break the drug supply chains
• Deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system
• Achieve a shift in the demand for recreational drugs

The partnership aims to assist residents in accessing the help they need as well as to reduce the crime which drug use is often linked with. The CDP is committed to making a long-term positive impact by creating and delivering on a local action plan which addresses the targets in the national strategy. This partnership work will help to break the cycle of drug misuse, keeping neighbourhoods safer across the county and individuals supported throughout their journey with addiction.

The partnership is formed from a range of services including:

• Local authority experts in relevant areas such as substance misuse, housing, employment, education, social care and safeguarding
• NHS (including strategic and mental health provider representation)
• Jobcentre Plus
• Councillors
• Substance misuse treatment providers
• Thames Valley Police
• Probation Services
• People with lived/living experience affected by drug-related harm
• The secure estate, such as prisons, young offender institutions (YOIs)

Over the last year, the partnership has met monthly to create a local action plan for Oxfordshire to tackle drug use and improve treatment outcomes.

The strategic action plan focuses on these six key themes:

• Early Intervention for Children and Young People
• Reducing Drug Related Homicide and Violent Crime
• Preventing Drug Deaths
• Reducing County Lines and Local Organised Crime Groups
• Increasing Treatment Places and Recovery
• Supporting Families at Risk of Substance Use

Over the next six months, the Oxfordshire CDP will begin delivering this strategy, using local data to review and monitor progress. This work is developing rapidly, and we will be updating this page and sharing the outcomes of this group.

If your service would like to join the partnership, if you have lived experience and want to get in touch, or if you have any questions, please contact us at: OCDP@oxfordshire.gov.uk