Author: Nigel Brunsdon

The NNEF AGM meeting was held at the Fiends Meeting House in London. This meeting was an AGM only meeting (no presentations this time) and was followed by a London Harm Reduction Cafe event.

2011 Annual General Meeting held in Bristol in June following the NNEF All Day Meeting.

PRESENT: Helen Wilks (Chair), Nigel Brunsdon (Vice-Chair), Martin Chandler (Vice-Chair), Cliff Askey, Jane Askey, Gill Bradbury, Allison Downing, Vicky Fenwick, Alison Hughes, Mercy Nimako, James Pierce, Clare Robbins, Paul Sargent, Jamie Bridge (minutes)

1. PREVIOUS AGM MINUTES
   The minutes from the previous AGM in Southampton (March 2010) were not available at the time of this meeting, but will be uploaded to the NNEF website alongside these minutes as soon as possible.
2. NNEF ACCOUNT AND TREASURER ROLE
   Alan Neill, the NNEF Treasurer and long term Planning Group Member, passed away in March 2011. NNEF has formally passed on our condolences to Alan’s family. Alan’s passing leaves the NNEF with two registered account signatories – Helen and Jamie. The relevant paperwork has been completed to add Martin and Nigel as additional signatories, and this is being processed by Lloyds Bank. Until this has been processed, however, we are unable to obtain up-to-date details on the account. Nonetheless, the account is understood to be in a healthy state thanks to the success of recent NNEF meetings and the support of sponsors, partners and exhibitors. There are some expense costs to be paid for the 2011 meeting, which will be processed as soon as possible. It was agreed not to fill the vacant Treasurer role, as this function can be easily performed by the current Chair and Vice-Chairs.
3. SECRETARIAT FUNCTION
   For several years, DrugScope have provided Secretariat support for NNEF. This was a largely historical arrangement that has since been passed on to a number of new staff within DrugScope. This role entails maintenance of the NNEF membership database, and coordination of registrations and sponsors for the annual meetings – but it has also involved support in unlocking the NNEF account in the past and other support as needed. It has been suggested that NNEF pay for this service, but it was agreed that the existing NNEF Planning Group can comfortably take these functions on themselves. Helen will write to DrugScope to thank them for their excellent support over the past few years, and to inform them about the change in arrangements. If possible, we would like to continue using the DrugScope postal address, with any mail forwarded to Helen. NNEF
4. PLANNING GROUP
   Attendees were asked if they would like to become more engaged with NNEF and participate in the Planning Group. Cliff, Jane, James and Paul all agreed to join, and Helen will add them to the closed email group alongside Mercy.
5. ACTIVITIES AND OPPORTUNITIES
   1. Helen is currently representing NNEF on the NICE BBV expert panel.
   2. Cliff mentioned some new research on hospital admissions among homeless people that is due to start in two or three months. He will contact the lead GP and see if there is scope for NNEF to contribute.
   3. Nigel is planning to start research on the number of “attempts” being made per injection, and will share this with NNEF when possible.
   4. Martin announced in the NNEF meeting that a new online survey will be launched soon to begin documenting the impacts of budget cuts and policy shifts on needle and syringe programmes across the UK.
   5. Alison also mentioned some work in Bradford on harm reduction as part of the treatment journey, and will explore options for NNEF to engage in this process.
   6. Gill asked if NNEF could consider ‘twinning’ with similar NGOs from developing countries. A similar project is being considered as part of the new European Harm Reduction Network, and will be discussed at their meeting in Marseilles in October. Jamie will attend this meeting and will propose that NNEF can be one of the ‘twinning’ NGOs.
6. 2012 NNEF MEETING
   For the 2012 NNEF meeting, we would like to find a partner / host agency in the North of England, as the last two meetings have been in the South. At the meeting today, Ann Sunter from St. Anne’s Community Services in Leeds expressed interest in holding the meeting there. Jamie will contact Ann as soon as possible to see if we can identify local venues and sponsors.
7. AOB
   As there will be no NCIDU event this year, the NNEF will miss one of its face-to-face meetings in Autumn. However, Nigel will explore some online options for a ‘virtual’ meeting instead.

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