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 fund improved provisions for addiction support services in (a) South Holland and The Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

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 evidence-based, high-quality treatment.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing the local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, and for commissioning services to meet those needs. In addition to the Public Health Grant, in 2025/26, the Department is providing Lincolnshire with £3,382,494 from the Drug and Alcohol Treatment and Recovery Improvement Grant and £217,783 from the Individual Placement and Support grant to improve drug and alcohol services and recovery support, which includes housing and employment. All funding is provided at the Lincolnshire level, and it is for Lincolnshire County Council to determine how to meet need in South Holland and The Deepings.

Alongside the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we are increasing our efforts to support smokers to quit and have invested an additional £70 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26 for all local authority commissioned stop smoking services in England. In each financial year, Lincolnshire has been allocated £1.1 million to invest in local stop smoking services, in addition to existing spend on these services from the Public Health Grant. The purpose of this investment is to boost capacity and demand for evidence-based support to quit smoking, and ensure we secure a smoke-free United Kingdom where no one is left behind.

In April 2025, a new statutory levy on gambling operators, expected to raise around £100 million per year, was introduced to fund the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harms. The levy will be distributed across the three workstreams with 50% allocated to NHS England, alongside appropriate bodies in Scotland and Wales, to commission the development of effective treatment and support services at national and sub-national levels.