St Helens Borough Council Cabinet set to approve scrutiny report on ketamine use among young people

Article date: 28 August 2025

The report, produced by the Children and Young People Services Scrutiny Committee following a year-long review, highlights the rising risks associated with ketamine misuse and outlines how the council and its partners can strengthen local and national responses.

Councillor Andy Bowden, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care & Health, said:

"We are determined to protect our young people from the harms of ketamine, and all forms of illegal substance misuse. We recognised there was a problem early on and got ahead of the game in terms of efforts to address the issue which is not just happening here in our borough - but across the country.

"This set of recommendations gives us a clear path forward working with our partners locally and pushing for national action, we can better safeguard the health, wellbeing and future prospects of our children and young people."

The review was carried out between September 2024 and May 2025 by a dedicated Task and Finish Group, working closely with schools, health services, Merseyside Police, and the Young People Drug and Alcohol Team (YPDAAT). Testimonies from affected families and survey results from borough schools also informed the findings.

Key recommendations include:

· Urging the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review ketamine's classification and consider reclassifying it as a Class A drug.

· Calling on national bodies to issue guidance on tackling ketamine misuse and supporting affected young people.

· Expanding training for schools, frontline staff, and community partners to improve early identification and intervention.

· Strengthening data collection and information sharing to build a clear evidence base.

· Raising awareness locally by sharing lived experiences of the devastating impact of ketamine use.

· Equipping police with testing kits to better identify ketamine during seizures and target supply chains.

Cabinet is scheduled to respond formally to the Scrutiny Committee's recommendations at its meeting on Wednesday 3 September at 4:00pm in St Helens Town Hall which can be viewed online:

To read the cabinet report, visit: https://sthelens.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s171185/From%20EMB.pdf