Barnet Council has secured a significant three-year funding settlement for its substance misuse services, bolstering efforts to combat drug and alcohol-related harm across the borough.
The funding, announced in spring 2026, will increase the protected budget for prevention, treatment, and recovery services, providing greater financial certainty for long-term planning and interventions. The total protected drug and alcohol prevention, treatment, and recovery budget is set at £4,300,797 for 2026/27, rising to £4,511,199 in 2027/28 and £4,738,456 in 2028/29.
Dr Janet Djomba, Director of Public Health, highlighted the achievement at the Combating Drugs Partnership Board meeting on Friday, September 18, 2026. She stated that the secured funding will allow for the expansion and extension of work, particularly through the provider Change, Grow, Live (CGL), which operates the Barnet Domestic Abuse Support Hub (BDASH).
Key achievements for the partnership in 2025/26 included improvements in criminal justice pathways into treatment. Referrals for Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRRs) increased substantially, rising from 45 to 76 assessments, resulting in 16 order starts compared to 11 in the previous year.
Access to treatment for children and young people has also risen significantly. Following a temporary reduction during the first half of 2025, reflecting a data recording issue, the number of young people (aged under 18) engaged in treatment has reached its highest level in Barnet, with 145 young people engaged over the last 12 months. This figure exceeds the borough's OHID target for the year.
The Rise and Recover
programme, an intensive 12-week community rehabilitation offer, has been highlighted as a success. This programme aims to address the gap where residential rehabilitation capacity is insufficient, rehabilitating individuals within the community. The partnership also highlights the positive contribution of creative recovery opportunities like filmmaking and art exhibitions, which play a part in recovery and encourage others starting their recovery journey.
Despite these successes, challenges remain. These include emerging drug trends like synthetic opioids, as well as ketamine-related harms and the traditional harms associated with alcohol and other problematic drug use. The partnership aims to address the inequality and complexity of needs for vulnerable groups experiencing mental health issues, homelessness, and those leaving prison, by focusing on how to respond to these more complex groups and move beyond just delivering recovery-based treatment services.
Barnet is developing its five-year substance misuse strategy, which is expected to be out in draft in the coming weeks. This strategy will outline priorities for the next five years and how they will be delivered. Key priorities will include addressing emerging threats like synthetic opioids, further supporting underserved communities, and exploring the use of people with lived experience in shaping treatment services. The strategy aims to consolidate current strengths and address new emerging risks.
The partnership's priorities for 2026-27 include implementing this new substance misuse strategy, enhancing surveillance for synthetic opioids, and expanding recovery opportunities.
For more details on the Safer Communities Partnership Board meeting, refer to the Public reports pack.
