Bassetlaw MP welcomes £9 million cash boost for drug and alcohol treatment

Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith has welcomed the £9,112,000 funding boost that will improve services for people addicted to drugs and alcohol over the next two years.

The extra funding will create more than 50,000 places in drug and alcohol treatment and enable local authorities to recruit more staff to work with people and support more prison leavers into treatment and recovery services.

Mr Clarke-Smith said: “The consequences of drug addiction are truly devastating, especially for the family and friends of those affected. The severity of this issue cannot be understated. It needs urgent addressment.

“Therefore, I welcome the £9m investment to boost drug and alcohol treatment and recovery in Nottinghamshire. I look forward to overseeing benefits of this funding in my Bassetlaw constituency.”

It 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.

Local authorities across England will receive a total of an extra £421m of government funding over the next two years to improve drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery, the government has announced.

Some 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 2024/25.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Drug misuse has a massive cost to society – more than 3,000 people died as a result of drug

misuse in 2021.

“This investment in treatment and recovery services is crucial to provide people with highquality support, with services such expanding access to life-saving overdose medicines and outreach to young people at risk of drug misuse already helping to reduce harm and improve recovery.

“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.”