Issue details

Following a procurement exercise conducted by open tender during 2024, a contract for the provision of Drug and Alcohol Related Deaths Panels for Greater Manchester was awarded to Liverpool John Moores University. The contract started on 15th November 2024.

The previous funding agreement had an expiry date of 31st August 2024. In order to fulfil the agreement between the ten Greater Manchester local authorities and the GMCA to commission DARD services, the previous funding agreement with LJMU requires extending to a new expiration date of 14th November 2024 to ensure there is no break in service delivery.

Drug and alcohol related deaths remain a significant issue at both a local and national level. The most recently available data shows a reduction in drug related death rates in GM compared to the previous period, however between 2020 and 2022 there were 660 recorded drug related deaths across GM, which is a significantly higher rate per 100,000 population than the national average (8.0 GM, 5.2 national).

The Drug and Alcohol Related Deaths Panels enable data and information to be compiled by local authority in the following areas:
• demographics and trends
• substances implicated in toxicology
• cause and verdicts of deaths where available
• common themes such as employment/accommodation/relationship status
• characteristics of deaths

This information will be considered by local panels of professionals across a range of disciplines to help in improving the response to such deaths and assist with delivering the ambition of reducing drug related deaths in Greater Manchester.