Torbay’s MP Kevin Foster has welcomed news that Torbay Council will receive £1,365,679 to combat drug and alcohol misuse over the next two years. Funding will boost services for people addicted to drugs and alcohol, helping to cut crime.
Local authorities across England will receive a total of an extra £421 million government funding over the next two years to improve drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery, the government announced today (16 February 2023).
The extra funding means that total local authority funding for treatment will have increased 40% between 2020/21 and 2024/25. It will enable the creation of over 50,000 high-quality places in drug and alcohol treatment.
The funding will enable local authorities to recruit more staff to work with people with drug and alcohol problems, support more prison leavers into treatment and recovery services, and invest in enhancing the quality of treatment they provide. More people will benefit from residential rehabilitation or inpatient detoxification, while improvements to the recovery services will sustain them outside of treatment – helping to reduce relapse rates.
151 local authorities across England are being allocated funding to increase the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. The funding includes £154.3 million for 2023/2024, and indicative funding of £266.7 million for 2024/2025.
The government’s drug strategy, published in December 2021, set out the ambition to significantly increase the capacity of treatment and recovery services. It is estimated that over the first three years of the strategy, the additional investment in treatment and recovery will prevent nearly 1,000 drug-related deaths. This funding builds on government’s ambitions in the 10-year drug strategy to deliver a world-class treatment and recovery system, and reduce drug use to a 30-year low
Kevin Foster MP said:
“This record investment is welcome in tackling drug misuse in the Bay, and will bolster important access to support services. Additionally, Torbay will benefit from a reduction in drug related crime and anti-social behaviour, improving communal spaces for all.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“This funding will help us build a world-class treatment and recovery service which will continue to save lives, improve the health and wellbeing of millions of people, and reduce pressure on the NHS by diverting people from addiction into recovery.”
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