EXECUTIVE 28 MAY 2013 STREET DRINKING STRATEGY/APPOINTMENT OF ALCOHOL INTERVENTION OFFICER (FIXED TERM) DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES

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1 EXECUTIVE 28 MAY 2013 SUBJECT: REPORT BY: LEAD OFFICER: STREET DRINKING STRATEGY/APPOINTMENT OF ALCOHOL INTERVENTION OFFICER (FIXED TERM) DIRECTOR OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY SERVICES SAM BARSTOW, PUBLIC PROTECTION AND ASB MANAGER 1. Purpose of Report 1.1 To inform Executive of the development of a draft Lincoln Local Street Drinking Strategy (attached as Appendix A) and seek the support of the Executive to the work of the multi agency team attempting to tackle the issue of street drinking in Lincoln city centre. 1.2 To advise Executive of the successful application for external funding to enable the appointment of an Alcohol Intervention Officer on a fixed term contract of one year to assist in delivery of the Strategy and associated action plan. 2. Executive Summary 2.1 Lincoln City, along with other major towns and cities in the country, suffers at times from cohorts of street drinkers who invariably congregate in central locations, drink to excess and cause low level, yet persistent, anti-social behaviour and crime or the fear of such behaviour in others. This type of behaviour has a huge impact on local service providers, particularly those with an enforcement remit and those involved in individuals or the public s health. 2.2 There is a small cohort of regular street drinkers who are known to the Police, City Council staff and other associated agencies. Whilst these persons present a drain on resources for a number of services at a cost to the tax payer there is opportunity to improve co-ordination amongst organisations in order to more effectively manage these individuals through what are often complex pathways. 2.3 Whilst there are clear benefits of rehabilitating an individual engaging with street drinkers is notoriously difficult and some will often refuse help and assistance, use their affliction with substances as a justification for their actions, or simply choose not to engage in order to avoid any meaningful and long lasting interventions. The proposal set out in this report, through the development of a Street Drinking Strategy with dedicated resource of an Alcohol Intervention Officer, is to deliver improved and better co-ordinated working arrangements across agencies that provide for both support to those individuals who need and would benefit from such support and also to direct those who choose to reject such help towards robust enforcement. 2.4 The City Council s newly formed Public Protection and Anti-Social Behaviour Team have, following approval of CMT, sourced external funding for the role of an Alcohol Intervention Officer to be filled on a fixed term contract for one year. The Team has also led and authored the multi agency Local Street Drinkers Strategy.

2 2.5 The Strategy has three key strands: a) To improve co-ordination. To co-ordinate the treatment and enforcement agencies so as to jointly manage an identified cohort of street drinkers (based on the definition embedded within the document). This strand will form the core of the role of the Alcohol Intervention Officer. b) To reduce availability of certain forms of alcohol. To reduce the availability of super strength lager, beer and cider, which tends to be the choice drink amongst the cohort of problem street drinkers. c) To develop a clear communication strategy To develop an all encompassing media strategy to appropriately communicate with the public on the issue of street drinking and the action being taken to tackle it, remaining sensitive to the perceptions of these individuals and the often tragic circumstances leading to their current situations. 3. Background 3.1 The issue of street drinking has been an issue in many urban areas for some time. In Lincoln, since the winter of 2011 there has been an escalation, with groups of street drinkers frequenting more visible and high profile locations within the city centre, such as St Mary s Street (housing both the train station and bus station in close proximity) and Park Street along with more traditional locations for such activity such as High Bridge and the Usher Art Gallery. Despite efforts by both the City Council and Lincolnshire Police, supported by partners such as Nomad Trust and Framework Housing, issues have persisted. Over the last 12/18 months there has been a rise in the perception of street drinking as a growing concern to both local businesses, local residents and visitors to the city, communicated through organisations such as Lincoln BIG, community policing panels, neighbourhood boards and the Chamber of Commerce and the issue has become much more visible and drawn increasing public attention. 3.2 In response to these issues, in the spring of 2012, the City Council approved the implementation of a Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) to cover the boundaries of the Lincoln BIG area. Following implementation of the Order and throughout the summer of 2012 there was a concerted effort to enforce the DPPO and achieve the purpose for which it was implemented. Sadly, despite this, the problems persisted and in response to ever growing concern a meeting was called in October 2012, by the then ASB Team, of all organisations related to this field to explore if a more coordinated response was possible/beneficial. Local businesses were also represented at this meeting through the Lincoln Business Improvement Group and the Co-Operative. 4. The Street Drinking Strategy and Alcohol Intervention Officer post. 4.1 At the meeting referred to in 3.2 above current issues were discussed in depth. It became clear that there was at times a gap in terms of the coordination between agencies, suggesting opportunity for improvement in multi-agency management of individuals often known to have complex needs.

3 4.2 The professionals at the meeting accepted that enforcement services initially needed to focus on encouraging and supporting individuals, through use of a range of interventions, to get them to engage effectively in treatment. The group also accepted however that there were those that repeatedly rejected support and rehabilitation and continued to cause issues in the community. The group accepted that support services need to communicate and work effectively with enforcement options around these individuals and take, where necessary, relevant enforcement actions. The need for a case management structure was supported. This formed the first strand of the strategy. 4.3 In developing this concept it became clear that it would require a concerted effort with additional resources and external funding was sought by the partners to enable the appointment of an Alcohol Intervention Officer to underpin the emerging strategy. The need for better coordination is a central strand of the strategy and developing this into a sustainable approach adopted by all partners forms the core role of the Alcohol Intervention Officer post. Funding to support delivery of the strategy by the appointment of an Alcohol Intervention Officer was sought and has been provided through: The Lincolnshire Community Safety Partnership The Baroness Newlove Fund The Lincoln Business Improvement Group 4.4 In exploring options around the wider environment that can be considered to encourage or support street drinking an example of the approach taken to the street drinking problem in Ipswich was tabled. This included approaches to reduce the availability of cheap super strength lagers, beers, and ciders. The concept was discussed and the principal was accepted as beneficial in terms of reducing the health impacts associated with consuming these substances along with the crime and disorder impacts that persons consuming this type of alcohol, to excess, were likely to cause. 4.5 Finally as a third strand to the strategy the group agreed that communications around these types of issues and the work taking place was generally quite weak leading to negative public perceptions both around the issues, the action being taken, and the authorities responsible. There was also concern raised about vilifying individuals with alcohol addiction, many of whom by any definition could be considered to be vulnerable and making them a target and the need for a coordinated & sensitive communication strategy. The City Council communications team has agreed to play a leading role in this area as the strategy progresses. 5. Strategic Priorities 5.1 The development of a Street Drinking Strategy and improved co-ordinated multiagency approach will underpin the Council s Strategic Plan priorities as follows: (i) Protecting the city s poorest people from the effects of the recession 5.2 The project will encompass work with some of those most disadvantaged within our communities. Aside from the direct work to offer support and assistance to individuals, by minimising the crime and anti-social behaviour related to these individuals, the strategy should also reduce the impact on other members of the

4 city s communities. (ii) Increasing the supply of affordable housing 5.3 Whilst the Street Drinking Strategy will not directly increase the supply of affordable housing the multi-agency approach should assist in reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. A number of the cohort of street drinkers are known to have accommodation and efforts to work with those individuals should enable them to better sustain their existing tenancies/accommodation and minimise any impact they are having in their area, and the risks of losing their existing accommodation/tenancies and becoming homeless. (iii) Growing the local economy 5.4 Street drinking is a concern of businesses, residents and visitors to the city. By adopting the Street Drinking Strategy and adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, signposting individuals to appropriate advice and support coupled with coordinated enforcement will help reduce the level of anti-social behaviour and fear of crime in the city centre and improve the image of the city for residents and visitors alike and the environment in which local businesses operate. 6. Organisational Impacts (i) Finance The cost of employing an Alcohol Intervention Officer on a 1 year fixed term contract ranges from 21,651 to 26,639 dependant upon conditions of appointment. Funding has been sought from various bodies and has been successfully awarded by the following; Community Safety Partnership - 13,000 Baroness Newlove Alcohol Fund - 10,000 Lincoln Business Improvement Group - 2,000 A 2000 contingency has been set in the ASB Team budget should it be required. The delivery of the Street Drinking Strategy is currently to be funded by use of individual organisations and partners existing collective resources, however the supporting partners are seeking opportunities to raise funds externally for a launch event. (ii) Legal Implications including procurement rules 6.4 Adopting the strategy has no direct legal or procurement implications. (iii) Land, property and accommodation 6.5 None (iv) Human Resource implications 6.6 The Alcohol Intervention Officer will be employed on a one year, fixed term contract. The City Council has a similar post on the existing staffing establishment

5 funding for which was reluctantly withdrawn under previous budget cuts The Job Description has been built around the previous role with slight amendments and therefore will not require job evaluation. It is likely that the fixed term contract post may be filled by redeployment of staff in the Council s redeployment pool thereby avoiding (at least for the time being) potential compulsory redundancy and associated redundancy costs (v) Equality, Diversity & Human Rights 6.9 None 7. Risk Implications (i) Options Explored 7.1 The City Council has sought to play an active part in reducing problems associated with street drinking. The resources deployed to-date by all relevant agencies have mitigated the situation but not led to a structured and joined-up solution. The Council has considered carefully the issues around both the development of a strategy, and seeking funding for an Alcohol Intervention Officer to progress and support the strategy. (ii) Key risks associated with the preferred approach Failure to act in response to the emerging street drinking issue would leave the Council open to criticism from the public and local businesses. There is a risk that the adoption of the strategy and the deployment of additional resources will lead to unrealistic expectations. Given the kinds of issues that are being addressed here it will be important to manage these expectations. The Alcohol Intervention Officer post is for a period of one year. Delays in developing the strategy in full could mean that the exit strategy for the post will mean placing an additional work burden on the PPASB Manager. 8. Recommendation The Executive is requested to: 1. Endorse the Street Drinking Strategy set out in Appendix A to this report and authorise the Director of Housing & Community Services to sign the Strategy with other partner organisations. 2. Note the successful application for external funding to enable the appointment of an Alcohol Intervention Officer to on a 1 year fixed term contract to support the implementation of the Street Drinking Strategy. Key Decision No

6 Do the Exempt Information Categories Apply Call in and Urgency: Is the decision one to which Rule 15 of the Scrutiny Procedure Rules apply? Does the report contain Appendices? No No Yes A (3 pages) List of Background Papers: Lead Officer: None. Sam Barstow, Public Protection and ASB Manager Telephone