Government cash to help drug and alcohol treatment and recovery in Rutland
It's thanks to ÂŁ421m of funding
An extra 421 million pounds of Government cash will be used to boost alcohol and drug treatment and recovery in England.
The new funding will be given to councils across the country with ÂŁ55,988 being made available in Rutland to help crack down on the issue over the next two years.
The funding has been prioritised for areas with the highest need, based on the rate of drug deaths, deprivation, opiate and crack cocaine prevalence and crime. It also takes into account of the size of the treatment population.
The government’s drug strategy, published in December 2021, set out our ambition to significantly increase the capacity of treatment and recovery services as part of the whole system approach to tackling supply and demand.
It's hoped the money will reverse the upward trend in drug deaths for the first time in a decade. It's 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.
The strategy also set out that illegal drugs drive half of all homicides, and nearly half of all burglaries, robberies and other acquisitive crimes are linked to heroin and crack addiction.
This comes alongside the government’s work to clamp down on the criminal gangs profiting from the trade in illegal drugs, backed by £300 million investment to dismantle over 2,000 county lines, make thousands more arrests and protect those being exploited.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien said:
“Addictions drive about half of all theft, burglary and robbery, so boosting treatment for addicts will help cut crime.
“This funding will help improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol recovery services right across the country, helping more people access the support they need, saving lives and benefitting communities.”
Treatment will be available for a wide range of substances, including powder cocaine, ecstasy, prescription drugs and cannabis.