Worcestershire County Council will receive £3.9 million of Government funding over the next two years to combat drug and alcohol misuse.
It builds on the 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.
The £3,960,000 investment in Worcestershire will improve local drug and alcohol addiction treatment and recovery by enabling the County Council 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 also 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.
The extra funding means that total local council 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.
In welcoming the funding boost, Rachel said:
“Drug misuse has a massive cost to society, and I know from speaking to the police and local support services that this is an issue here in Redditch.
“This investment in local 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 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.”