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 has announced.

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.

In Cumbria, which will soon split into two local authorities of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness, more than £3 million will be spent to deliver this service.

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.

Commenting, Simon Fell (MP for Barrow and Furness) said:

“This funding is a huge boost. The work which health partners do to assist addicts as part of their rehabilitation is incredible. Close to home we have an amazing charity, The Well Communities, who I have long since campaigned for to receive more money so that they can plan for the long term. This funding will go someway towards meeting that goal, so that more people can be helped to move away from drug and alcohol addiction, and live happy and healthy lives in Furness.”

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.”

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.”

Combating Drugs Minister Chris Philp said:

“The funding announced today builds on existing investment in services to help users kick the cycle of addiction and drive down crime – and to prevent addiction at an earlier stage.

“This record investment as part of the UK Government’s 10-year drugs strategy brings together the police, courts, local authorities and other agencies, through Combating Drugs Partnerships, to tackle illicit drug use with high quality treatment and put criminals who profit behind bars.”