PCD 1804 Partnership for Healthy Cities Funding – Synthetic Opioids

Executive Summary: 

The Mayor’s offices have been successful in bidding for funding from the Partnership for Healthy Cities, which supports cities in the planning and implementation of a policy intervention to strengthen noncommunicable disease and injury prevention.  

This funding will be used for the procurement of consultancy experts to improve London’s resilience against the rising threat of synthetic opioids, through quality-assuring local plans, clarifying city-wide roles and responsibilities, and ensuring that needle and syringe programmes are fit-for-purpose.  

This will support the work of the London Drugs Forum and is the result of collaboration between the GLA Group Public Health Unit, OHID London and MOPAC.  

This decision requests the acceptance of £39,000 funding, for delivery from April to December 2025. 

Recommendation:  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve the acceptance of £39,000 from the Partnership for Healthy Cities to improve London’s resilience against the rising threat of synthetic opioids.  

2. Approve the commencement of a competitive procurement process for the delivery of expert consultancy services between April to December 2025.  

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. Rates of nitazene and fentanyl adulteration are currently rising in London, with both fatal and non-fatal opiate overdoses rising. The national government is keen for local areas to increase their resilience against the threat of synthetic opioids and the risk of overdose associated deaths.  

2. London recently stood up an Incident Management Team (IMT) to look at the threat of synthetic opioids to the city, and potential citywide responses. This IMT is convened by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) London, with the GLA and MOPAC participating as key members.  

3. The GLA Group Public Health Team bid for funding from the Partnership for Healthy Cities, on behalf of this IMT to address this, and was successful in receiving £39,000.  

4. This funding will be used to procure services to:  

• Support the assurance of local synthetic opioid preparedness plans.  

• Support the finalisation of the London emergency scenarios and support the development of a roles and responsibilities document for regional and local partners, should there be an acute situation.  

• Conduct a needs assessment of current London needle and syringe programme activity.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. The Mayor established the GLA Public Health Unit as a shared service to provide public health skills and expertise to embed a ‘health in all policies’ approach. As part of this, the Public Health Unit supports MOPAC to take a public health approach to policing, and specifically areas where there is a need to collaborate closely between policing and health, such as drugs.  

2. The GLA Group Public Health Unit and MOPAC convened the London Drugs Forum (LDF) to bring together partners to “take a London-wide approach to co-ordinating and driving forward work to prevent and address the wide-ranging harms to both individuals and communities caused by drugs”.  

3. The issue of synthetic opioids and their impact on changing drugs markets in London, has been discussed widely at the LDF, with Police flagging the growing threat that they pose. Partners have been working together in an attempt to take a system-wide approach to tackling this threat. However, with 33 local authorities, 12 BCUs and several Combatting Drugs Partnerships in London, there is a need for greater coordination at a regional level. Through the actions of the LDF, MOPAC and the GLA have jointly been attempting to drive partnership working, and this additional funding will enable additional pieces of work to happen that we and our partners do not currently have the capacity to undertake ourselves.  

4. This funded activity will support the Mayor’s commitment in the Police and Crime Plan to work in partnership to reduce the harms caused by the illegal drugs trade and to champion a public-health approach to tackling this.  

3. Financial Comments  

1. MOPAC requests approval to accept funding totalling £39,000 from the Partnership for Healthy Cities.  

2. The procurement of expert consultancy services will be budgeted across 2025/26 as follows:  

3. Additional funding may be made available to MOPAC from the same source at a later date. Should this occur, a second funding decision will be submitted.  

4. Legal Comments  

1. MOPAC’s general powers are set out in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). Section 3(6) of the 2011 Act provides that MOPAC must “secure the maintenance of the metropolitan police service and secure that the metropolitan police service is efficient and effective.” Under Schedule 3, paragraph 7 (1) MOPAC has wide incidental powers to “do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office.” Paragraph 7(2) (a) provides that this includes entering into contracts and other agreements.  

2. There are further relevant powers set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 at sections 17(1) (a) to (c) which place MOPAC under a duty to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all it can to prevent, crime and disorder (including anti-social and other behaviour adversely affecting the local environment), reoffending in its area, and the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in its area. The proposed arrangements are consistent with MOPAC’s duties in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.  

3. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides that the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC) has delegated authority to approve all bids for grant funding. 

4. The delegation of responsibility for the finalisation of planning and contractual/grant arrangements, including relevant terms and the signing of agreements, to the Chief Operating Officer is in accordance with the general power of delegation in paragraph 1.7.  

5. Officers must ensure the Financial Regulations and Contract Regulations are complied with.   

6. Officers should ensure that the funding agreements are put in place before any commitment to fund is made.   

7. Officers confirm that sufficient assurance has been carried out to this decision to determine that the Chief Executive has legal authority to agree the recommendations.  

5. Commercial Issues  

1. Funding will be provided to MOPAC by the Partnership for Healthy Cities, through a grant agreement.  

2. For the procurement of consultancy services, an invitation to quote will be sent to a minimum of 4 providers. Quotes will be evaluated by 3 evaluators and a moderation session will be undertaken.  

3. In order to maximise the use of the funding provided and ensure a high-quality delivery, scoring will consist of 100% awarded for quality. It will be ensured that no bid exceeds the maximum budget allocated.  

4. A Contract between MOPAC and the successful provider/s will be issued and accepted by signature by both parties, using MOPAC’s standard Short Form Contract.  

5. As the value of the procurement falls below the threshold for CEO approval set out in 5.12 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation, the relevant director can approve the procurement strategy in accordance with 6.1 of the same.  

6. The actions proposed can be taken in compliance with procurement legislation and MOPAC’s Contract Regulations.  

6. Public Health Approach 

1. This piece of work has been led by the GLA Group Public Health Unit, on behalf of a partnership including MOPAC and OHID London. 

2. The overarching aim is to protect Londoners’ health by improving London’s resilience against the rising and life-threatening risks of synthetic opioids.  This would be achieved by quality-assuring local preparedness plans; clarifying city-wide roles and responsibilities; and ensuring that needle and syringe programmes are fit-for-purpose. This represents a prevention approach, as well as a whole systems partnership. Data and evidence of best practice will be used to inform this piece of work, as well as the expertise of people with lived and living experience.    

7. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.   

8. Equality Comments  

1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.  

2. Whilst substance misuse is excluded from the Equality Act, substantial long term physical or mental impairment from using drugs is classed as a disability. As this decision is intended to protect individuals with substance misuse issues, it is likely to have a positive impact upon those individuals living with disability.  

3. An Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) will be completed to complement the tender documents.