Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

(asked on 3rd September 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 28 of the Government's 2017 Drug Strategy, published in July 2017, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) potential benefits and disbenefits of the proposals to use locally retained business rates for the funding of alcohol treatment services and (b) effect of those proposals on the provision of such services in deprived areas.


Answered by
Steve Brine Portrait
Steve Brine
This question was answered on 11th September 2018

It is for individual local authorities to decide what resources to commit to different public health services, including alcohol treatment services, to meet the needs of their local populations.

Under the current system of 50% retained business rates, local authorities that receive more in business rates income than their baseline funding level contribute through a tariff, which is used to top up local authorities that receive less business rates income than their baseline funding level.

The Government has been clear that under any future system there will continue to be redistribution of business rates between local authorities to take account of their relative needs.

Reticulating Splines