Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve addiction support services in (a) Stoke-on-Trent and (b) Staffordshire.
Local authorities are responsible for assessing local needs and commissioning drug and alcohol prevention, treatment and harm reduction services. Public Health England supports Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire local authorities by providing advice, guidance and data to help them assess local need and commission services accordingly. Local authority spending through the public health grant will be maintained in the next financial year, meaning local authorities can continue to invest in prevention and essential frontline health services and this includes drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.