Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) provide support for and (b) increase capacity of drug and alcohol recovery services in Stoke-on-Trent.

The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug or alcohol problem can access the help and support they need, and we recognise the need for evidenced-based, high-quality treatment. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department provides additional funding to support drug and alcohol services. In 2024/25, a total of £4,670,913 was allocated to Stoke-on-Trent. This included £2,906,020 for the Supplementary Substance Misuse Treatment and Recovery Grant, £939,906 for the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant, £589,429 for the Housing Support Grant, £165,719 for the Individual Placement and Support Grant (employment support), and £69,839 for the Inpatient Detoxification Grant. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) provides monitoring, data, guidance, and targeted support to help local authorities, such as Stoke-on-Trent, to support improvement of drug and alcohol treatment. For Stoke-on-Trent, this support includes regular meetings with the Director of Public Health, commissioners, and providers to discuss treatment and recovery delivery, site visits by OHID, and engagement in improvement support programmes, for example introducing innovation into treatment services to improve access and retention for people who use opiates.

Additionally, OHID has published guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services in their areas, with more information available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

The Department continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug misuse deaths and to drive improvements in continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess gaps in referral pathways. The toolkit also contains guidance on good practice to reduce the level of unmet need and target priority or underserved groups.