Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Drug and Alcohol Addiction: Treatment

Tuesday 7 January 2025 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial funding for drug and alcohol treatment has increased by 267 million this year.
  • Social prescribing is one of the tools used to address drug and alcohol addiction and support prevention goals.
  • The Government are developing a five-point plan for prevention, which will include actions to reduce alcohol harms.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Dan Carden Lab Liverpool Walton
NHS
Context

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled against seven companies for misleading families in the drug and alcohol treatment sector. These companies take up to 40% of fees paid directly to treatment providers, exploiting vulnerable individuals.

Question

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for his campaigning on this important issue—and indeed for speaking so honestly about his own experiences during his time in this House. An additional £267 million has been invested this year to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. We are committed to correcting the years of disinvestment in treatment and recovery services and ensuring that people can access the support they need.

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)

Attempting to exploit people with addictions is reprehensible. Free drug and alcohol treatment is available in every part of the country, and I urge anyone who is struggling right now to visit the NHS addiction website. The Care Quality Commission has said that it could take legal action against companies misusing its logo, and Google has said it would remove search listings from these companies. I am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend to see what more we can do to stop this outrageous activity.

Answered
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Q2 Jess Brown-Fuller Lib Dem Chichester
NHS
Context

A primary care network in Chichester district is reviewing its social prescribing offering, proposing to remove it entirely. Social prescribing supports the Government's aim of moving from cure to prevention.

Question

Social prescribing is one of the primary care services provided for drug and alcohol addiction, and it also supports the Government’s aim of moving from cure to prevention, which is why I was shocked to hear that a primary care network in my constituency is reviewing its social prescribing offering across the Chichester district and proposing to remove it entirely. Does the Minister agree that social prescribing is a key pillar of our primary care services, and does the money used need to be ringfenced to protect that service across the country?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)

Social prescribing is one of the tools, and it is an important one in addressing public health concerns in each of our constituencies. This Government are committed to ensuring that we get those shifts from sickness to prevention. We will be ensuring that local areas have public health funding in reasonable time. We are about to announce, in due course, this year’s allocations. We need to make sure that local systems maximise the use of their money, and that certainly includes social prescribing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not commit to ringfencing public health funding for social prescribing but acknowledged its importance in addressing public health concerns.

How: Under Review

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Q3 Rachael Maskell Labour (Co-op) York Central
NHS
Context

In 2022, there were more than 10,000 deaths from alcohol use. More than 600,000 people have an alcohol dependency.

Question

In 2022, there were more than 10,000 deaths from alcohol use. We know that more than 600,000 people have an alcohol dependency. We need to focus not just on treatment services and their funding, but on prevention. The last Government failed to bring forward a timely alcohol strategy. Will the Minister update the House on what he is doing to ensure that we are tackling this massive situation in our communities?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)

My hon. Friend raises an important point. As part of the Government’s health mission, we are producing a five-point plan for prevention, and alcohol harms is one of those areas. I hope to be able to update her and the House in due course on the actions we will be taking to drive down the prevalence of alcohol harms and other addictions, because they are costing lives and causing misery in communities. That is why this Government are determined to tackle these public health problems.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not provide a specific timeline or concrete actions for tackling alcohol harms but acknowledged the importance of addressing public health issues.

How: In Due Course

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Q4 Jim Shannon DUP Strangford
NHS
Context

There are community addiction services for individuals over the age of 18, but there is no provision for those under 18 who are succumbing to alcohol addiction.

Question

While there are community addiction services for those over the age of 18, worryingly, across this great United Kingdom, those under the age of 18 are succumbing to alcohol addiction, too. There does not seem to be any provision for them. May I ask the Minister genuinely and helpfully what provision there will be for those under the age of 18, because addiction problems are rising among the younger generation?

Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Andrew Gwynne)

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. This Government are committed to having the healthiest generation of children ever. That means we will have a concerted effort on a whole range of health issues that determine the health and wellbeing of young people, which will hopefully ensure that they become healthy adults as a consequence. Alcohol harms are certainly one of the considerations we will be looking at.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister did not provide specific details on provision for those under 18 but acknowledged the importance of addressing alcohol harm among young people.

How: Whole Range Of Health Issues

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