Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones, has welcomed news that North Yorkshire will receive £1,622,106 in Government funding to combat drug and alcohol misuse over the next two years. The 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.
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.
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.
Commenting Andrew said: “Alcohol and drug addictions are not just personal tragedies but also affect the families, friends and communities of those suffering.
“I am pleased that North Yorkshire is receiving this level of funding and I am looking forward to learning how it will help those in need in our area.”
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 high-quality 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.”
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