Peterborough Council given extra £430K to spend to tackle drug and alcohol crisis
But experts concerned money won’t be spent where it should as drug and alcohol deaths rise
New figures released by the Government’s Office for Health Improvement & Disparities shows that Peterborough Council has been given a generous injection of funds in order to tackle the rising drug and alcohol crisis in the area.
Analysis of the drug strategy allocation budgets by the UK Addiction Treatment Group shows that in 2023/24, Peterborough was given £680,550 to spend on drug and alcohol treatment services and support.
UKAT’s analysis shows that this has risen by 64%. Peterborough Council’s 2024/25 drug strategy allocation now stands at £1,116,875 to be spent on helping vulnerable people this year.
Furthermore, £58,315 has been ringfenced for Peterborough Council to spend solely on inpatient detoxification - a service that is crucial in helping drug and alcohol addicts kick start their journey to being free from addiction.
The rise in funds is down to the Government’s desire to tackle the national drug and alcohol addiction crisis. Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) injected £154.3 million in additional grants to improve services in line with the ambitions of the government’s drug strategy, and the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review.
This financial year, DHSC plans to provide a further £266.7 million, spread across the 317 local authorities in England and for the first time since 2012, councils have a protected budget allocated for inpatient detoxification only- a service that the UK Addiction Treatment Group provides as standard.
Peterborough Council’s rise in funds to tackle drug and alcohol addiction in the area is appropriately timed, as the death rate from both has risen significantly since the Covid pandemic.
UKAT’s analysis of Office for National Statistics data shows that in Peterborough, before the pandemic, there were just 9 deaths due to drug poisoning in 2019. This has nearly doubled, rising by 88% to 17 in 2022.
Similarly, Peterborough is seeing a rise in alcohol-related mortality, with latest figures showing that in 2019, 67 people living in Peterborough lost their lives to alcohol. This rose by 22% to 82 deaths in 2022- the highest alcohol related mortality rate ever recorded in Peterborough.
Lee Fernandes, Lead Therapist at the UK Addiction Treatment Group comments: “Whilst we welcome the Government’s bold injection of funds for drug and alcohol support in areas like Peterborough, we need to ensure that this money is being spent appropriately and effectively, and on the services it was intended for. The reinstatement of ringfenced budgets for detoxification is extremely helpful, as it means Councils have to spend this particular amount on this particular service.
“We’re urging the Government to closely monitor how councils across the country spend this extra money, and we’re urging council leaders to work directly with providers like ourselves to ensure speedy, effective and proven addiction treatment reaches those in their community who need it.”
If you’re struggling with drugs and alcohol, 24/7 confidential help and support is available at the UK Addiction Treatment Group.
If you have a client you’d like to refer into the UK Addiction Treatment Group’s treatment service, contact our statutory referral team directly on [email protected]