Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of funding available for the provision of harm reduction programmes by alcohol and drug services.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning services to prevent, mitigate and treat alcohol and drug related health harm, based upon local need. The Department is continuing to invest in improvements to local alcohol and drug treatment services to ensure those in need can access high quality help and support. Funding for treatment services is provided through the public health grant.

In addition, local authorities have a further £267 million from the Department this year to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery, alongside £105 million made jointly available by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to improve treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. This additional investment is improving the quality and capacity of alcohol and drug treatment services in England. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced updates to the fiscal framework and launched the next Spending Review, which will settle 2025-26 budgets in October 2024 and conclude the multi-year Spending Review in spring 2025.