1. Introduction And Overview
The Drug & Alcohol Service Support Grant 2024/2025 is being administered by Active Kent & Medway on behalf of Kent County Council (KCC). Deadline for applications is midday on Friday 10th January 2025.
Both the Kent Drug Needs Assessment and Kent Alcohol Needs Assessment highlighted that individuals with drug and/ or alcohol support needs face substantial associated socioeconomic and health inequalities, including higher rates of premature morbidity and mortality, trauma, and mental health needs.
Whilst addiction issues can impact anyone, there is increased vulnerability amongst individuals with co-occurring conditions who are exposed to other risks including domestic abuse, suicidality, and criminal justice. Other groups known to have a higher incidence of drug and alcohol related support needs include:
- People with a history of childhood abuse, trauma and experience of care system
- Sex workers and those with sexual vulnerabilities e.g. LGBTQ+
- People with mental illness /suicide history
- People facing violence
- People who are homeless, rough sleeping or facing housing instability
The annual cost of alcohol misuse to society is around £21 billion. The cost to society from drug misuse is estimated to be in the region of £10 – £15 billion annually, the majority of which is crime related.
The Kent Adult Drug and Alcohol services deliver open access drug and alcohol treatment and harm reduction services through a range of interventions, including, structured psychosocial support, clinical interventions, access to residential rehabilitation and inpatient detoxification, provision of needle exchange and Naloxone.
KCC commissions Drug and Alcohol support services with the aim of reducing the harm caused by drugs and alcohol and improving the health and wellbeing of Kent’s population. The vision for the service is that:
“Kent Drug and Alcohol Services will be safe, high quality, easy to access and focused on recovery. They will be there for all people who need them, each step of the way into recovery and good health. Those working in the services will be highly trained and supported. They will understand the difficult journey people make to be free of addiction, advocating for all people to get the best treatment and recovery they can. They will be ‘trauma informed’ and this means they will be compassionate, challenge stigma and remove barriers to treatment particularly for the most vulnerable. They will work hand in hand with those with lived experience of addictions and all health and social care partners to get the best results possible. Embedded into the heart of the community, these will be evidence-based services, working with all partners to ensure there is hope and recovery for everyone.”
Drug and Alcohol prevalence in Kent
The Kent drugs needs assessment in 2022 found that in Kent:
- There is an increasing trend in reported drug use in those under 30 years old and among young adults aged 16 to 24; about 8.7% had taken a Class A drug in the last year.
- Cannabis was the most commonly used drug, 7.6% of adults aged 16 to 59 reported that they had used it in the previous year.
- National drug use rates among older adults aged 44-59 have increased over time.
The alcohol needs assessment was conducted in 2021 and found that in Kent:
- It is estimated that a quarter of people drink at levels above those recommended.
- An estimated 15% of Kent’s residents are binge drinkers.
- There are 14,000 people estimated to need alcohol or alcohol and non-opiate treatment services in Kent. There are about 2,300 people in recovery services in Kent which meets only 15% of the estimated need.
- There are an estimated 1% dependent drinkers in Kent.
- In 2019, 564 deaths in Kent were attributed to alcohol and the areas of greatest deprivation were worse impacted.
- The average age of death of a person with alcohol related conditions is 54.3 years, in comparison with death from all causes of 77.6 years.
- Almost 50% of those seeking alcohol treatment have a mental health problem
Government objectives & associated strategies
On December 6, 2021, the UK Government published its 10-year drug strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’. It sets out national objectives of improving numbers in treatment, continuity of care from prison to community, quality of treatment and reduction in drug and alcohol related mortality.
Local authorities were subsequently awarded 3-year grant funding to supplement existing substance misuse services. For Kent County Council this totalled circa £11.4m over the three years April 2022 to March 2025.
The Kent Drug and Alcohol Strategy, 2023- 2028 ‘Better Prevention, Treatment and Recovery and Community Safety’, aims to tackle and reduce drug and alcohol related harm across a range of partnerships and seeks to implement a high quality and evidence-based programme of harm reduction actions. It will improve access and ensure there are quality services for very high-risk families, vulnerable people and communities. The strategy identifies 13 strategic priorities across three main areas: Prevention, Improving Treatment and Recovery and Community Safety.
Follow this link for the UK Government’s 10-year drug strategy ‘From Harm to Hope’
Follow this link for Kent’s Drug and Alcohol Strategy 2023-2028
2. Drug & Alcohol Services and Support Grant Fund Overview and Purpose
Kent County Council (KCC) wishes to allocate a proportion of the SSMTRG to create innovation grant funding opportunities that will support small initiatives which contribute towards Kent meeting the objectives of From Harm to Hope.
The grant(s) offered will need to support one of the below objectives. Examples are given but are not an exhaustive list and other ideas will be considered:
Increasing referrals and improving pathways into KCC’s commissioned drug and alcohol treatment services:
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- Dedicated marketing materials on KCC’s drug and alcohol treatment services for cohorts the organisation already supports
- Undertaking outreach with certain cohorts who are not likely to engage with treatment and recovery services through traditional methods to promote support available
Providing recovery support activities that support individuals to develop their recovery capital and avoid relapse:
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- Delivering activities which will provide individuals with purpose, this may include learning a new skill, hobby or developing the confidence to engage with existing employment support services
The funding cannot be used for:
- The general running costs of an organisation (i.e. broadband, office space, costs towards regular sessions already being delivered)
- Replacement equipment (Please note: financial provisions should be in place to replace damaged / obsolete equipment)
- Uniforms
- Refreshments
- Travel/Transport
- CPD courses (such as DBS checks, Safeguarding and First Aid courses)
- Costs towards Capital assets (fixed/permanent structure)
- Retrospective costs
3. Drug & Alcohol Services and Support Grant Fund Process
KCC will ensure the grant process is transparent, open and fair and operates in line with the KCC grants policy.
Grants will be evaluated as set out in Section 4 of this document by a panel of no less than 3 members.
As part of the grant process, there will be vital documents the grant recipient will need to read and/or complete as listed below.
- Grant Prospectus (this document)
- Application Form (required as part of application submission)
- End of Project Report Template
- Grant Conditions
- Data Protection Declaration (required as part of application submission)
4. Evaluation of Grant Bids
As previously outlined:
- The initiative MUST meet the requirement as set out in Section 2.
- The initiative MUST be linked to expenditure for immediate need and as such be spent within the timeframes previously stated.
- The initiative MUST be delivered within the Kent County Council geography.
In addition, the fund cannot be used to support any of the below:
- Activity organised for party political, religious or charity fundraising purposes.
- Activity that promotes unhealthy behaviours or illegal activity (e.g. smoking, drinking, gambling)
- Capital schemes, though we may fund equipment purchase as part of a wider project.
- Applicants who previously failed to comply with the Kent Drug’s & Alcohol Services and Support Grant scheme conditions
- Activity which has already taken place or is funded via other sources.
- We will not accept anything which conflicts with Kent County Council’s standards.
- Activities delivered by organisations that are not a legal entity.
If the application does not adhere to the above criteria, it will not be scored by the panel and it will be rejected by KCC. Furthermore, KCC reserves the right to reject applications where the application form has not been fully completed or where the request for funding exceeds the maximum value as set out in Section 7.
Those that meet the above criteria will be evaluated by a panel of at least 3 KCC staff. Questions within Section 3 on the application form will be assessed against the table below. A minimum score of 2 must be achieved for each assessed question within the application form for the bid to be considered further.
Score, Assessment and Interpretation
4 = Excellent
Response is completely relevant and provides an excellent understanding of the requirements of the specification. The response is comprehensive, unambiguous and provides above the requirements. Offers significant beneficial added value.
3 = Good
Response is relevant and good. It demonstrates a good understanding of the requirement of the specification and provides additional details on how the requirements will be fulfilled. Offers additional beneficial added value.
2 = Acceptable
Response is relevant and acceptable and meets the requirement of the specification. The response addresses a broad understanding of the requirements and addresses the need .
1 = Poor
Response is partially relevant but lacks sufficient detail. The response addresses some elements of the requirement of the specification but contains insufficient or limited detail or explanation on how the requirement of the specification will be fulfilled.
0 = Unacceptable
Nil or inadequate response. Fails to demonstrate an ability to meet any of the requirements of the specification. Does not have any understanding of the need/client group.
Each bid round will have a total allocation. If the total value of grants meeting the minimum criteria exceeds the bid round value, KCC will offer the grants to the highest scoring applications first, up until the total bid round value is reached.
KCC reserves the right to increase the value of the bid round, should there be sufficient high scoring bids or to not award the full value of the round if the bids received are of poor quality, would risk duplication or do not provide value for money.
5. Who can apply?
The grants are open to all organisations registered as legal entities in the districts of Kent County Council. All funded projects and schemes must be delivered within districts of Kent County Council. Joint bids and/or consortium bids are permissible under this scheme so long as one of the organisations is a legal entity. Applications from schools are not permissible.
All applicants must be of good financial standing, this will be verified by KCC in the form of financial checks as outlined in Section 6.
Organisations are only permitted to submit one application per bid round. Where multiple bids are received in the same bid round from the same organisation, KCC will award to the highest scoring bid contingent on it meeting criteria as set out in Section 4 of this document.
6. Finance Information Guidance
When submitting a grant application, organisations are asked to attach their latest full set of signed accounts (including a profit and loss account) together with a statement of any material changes that have either taken place, or are known about, since the last set of accounts to either the structure/management of the legal entity or to the legal entity’s financial position. This is to help ensure that organisations receiving a grant are financially viable throughout the duration of the grant agreement.
Smaller organisations that may not have a full set of detailed accounts must provide the following:
- Income/ expenditure/ profit sheet and
- A balance sheet
7. Funding
Kent funding allocation in the first year is £1,944,823; 2.77% of the overall national grant and the largest local authority allocation in England. Kent County Council are looking to utilise £27,000 of its SSMTRG allocation to support grant applications. Although KCC would welcome grant applications of up to £10,000, it is expected that most grants awarded will be in the region of £5,000.
If successful in receiving a Kent Drug & Alcohol Service Support Grant, 100% of funds will be released upfront. Any funding not spent, or not spent in line with the agreed initiative will be recovered by KCC.
KCC are unable to roll over funding into the next financial year and will use this grant process to utilise underspend. Therefore, the grants are likely to be spent within the financial year they’re awarded and hence it is imperative they can be mobilised quickly.
8. Performance and Reporting
All grants will be conditional on commitment to provide an end of project report outlining the project. Once the project has been delivered this report will need to be sent to KCC within 30 days of project completion.
End of project reports should be submitted via phperformance@kent.gov.uk
If the project exceeds 6 months or is awarded at over £5,000 the grant may be subject to more frequent reporting. This will be confirmed on an individual basis once the funding has been successfully offered.
KCC reserves the right to request any unspent finances post project completion to be returned as set out in the Grant Conditions.
9. Mobilisation
A key requirement for successful grants will be the ability to be able to mobilise the scheme within 4 weeks of being awarded the funding. All projects are expected to be completed within 6 months of grant award or by the end of the financial year (whichever is earliest) unless otherwise agreed.
10. Roles and Responsibilities
Roles and responsibilities of KCC
- Allocation of grant funds and timely payment of funds.
- Review of end of project reports
- Light touch support and advice should this be necessary.
- Fairness and transparency over progress.
- Identification of cross over/duplication of projects across the County
- Identification of scalable project
Roles and responsibilities of the Grant Recipient
- Delivery of initiative within terms of grant agreement.
- Commitment to notify KCC of any change in scope and/or forecast funding.
- Commitment to deliver messages in line with up-to-date government advice.
- Dedication to complete a satisfactory end of project report and collection of robust data during the project to enable this.
- Ensuring the necessary permissions are sought from participants for any media and reporting shared.
- Commitment to create sustainable initiatives where viable.
- Promotion of the initiative to ensure good uptake.
- Sharing of relevant media and content with KCC to onward share as necessary and agreement that any Intellectual Property created will be jointly owned.
- Have insurances and policies in place relevant and proportionate to the agreed initiative.
- Promotion of initiatives as being funded by KCC where prior agreement has been obtained
11. Policies and Procedures
The grant recipient is expected to have in place policies, procedures, and protocols in line with the area of delivery. Example policies that may be required are detailed below.
- Effective governance structure for the service
- Safeguarding or safe culture processes
- Safe Recruitment of staff and volunteers
- Modern slavery
- Prevent
- Mental Capacity Act 2005 policy
- Whistleblowing
- Complaints and grievances (staff and service users)
- Equalities and Diversity – Ensure that the action that was developed for the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) is implemented and completed annually
- Business continuity and emergency planning
- Health and Safety
- Induction and training including mandatory training and a matrix policy
- Recruitment and selection
- Disciplinary / Capability (staff)
- Information governance covering Data Protection, Confidentiality, Data Retention, and Information Security
- Serious Incidents
- Workforce supervision, appraisal and / or performance management
- Quality management
- Peer support and volunteering
- E-Safety
- Domestic Abuse Workplace Policy
- Risk assessment-risk register
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This material may not be copied or published without the Kent County Council’s permission in writing.
