Funding boost will 'massively improve' drug addiction treatment in Yorkshire

Karen Tyrell, executive director of strategy at Humankind, said the funding boost will help the charity “massively improve” the treatment services it provides and enhance the lives of thousands of people across the region.

The Government has announced councils will be provided with £780m over three years, to help them create an extra 54,500 new high-quality drug and alcohol treatment places and reduce the number of drug-related deaths.

It comes after an independent review, conducted by Dame Carol Black, found the current system for treatment and recovery is “not fit for purpose, and urgently needs repair” and more than £550m of additional investment is needed over five years.

The two-part review stated that funding for treatment has been cut by 17 per cent since 2014 and there are now around 3 million users in the UK while drug-related deaths have reached “the highest level since records began”.

Councils have not received their allocations yet, but the money will be invested in treatment programmes provided by organisations like Humankind, which runs drug and alcohol treatment services like North Yorkshire Horizons and Forward Leeds.

The Government said all councils will receive funing but the 50 local authorities “in greatest need” will receive it first “to ensure that better access to treatment is fast tracked for the poorest and most vulnerable”.

Ms Tyrell said: “It’s a significant investment in the drug and alcohol treatment provision across the country, which is massive for us.

“From our perspective, we’re really hoping that it’s going to allow us to massively improve and expand the services that we provide across Yorkshire.

“It will also hopefully give us some opportunities to trial some new ways of working, so that we’ve got a few more innovative things up our sleeves in terms of being able to get out and help people with their substance use, and also reach more people as well.”

She added: “Drug-related deaths have continued to go up year on year for around 10 years. So to turn the tide on that is going to take time and a concerted and coordinated effort across charities like ours, and the wider health and social care system.

“So whilst this money is a really important step in the right direction, it’s going to take several years before it fully flows through. Multiple parts of the healthcare system have got to work in concert to really make a significant difference.”

Last year, it was revealed that the number of drug-related deaths recorded in England and Wales in 2020 was the highest since records began in 1993.

The Office for National Statistics said 4,561 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in total.