§ Mr. AshleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Social Services if he will list the self-help groups for tranquilliser addiction which receive direct help from his Department and those which have applied for help and been refused, giving the reasons for the refusal.
§ Mrs. Currie[holding answer 22 June 1988]: Under the central funding initiative, which was set up to pump-prime the development of drug misuse services, the following voluntary organisations, specifically for those dependent on tranquillisers, received or are receiving grants totalling £339,000:—
- Tranx (Harrow)
- Tranx Release (Northampton)
- MIND (Copeland)(Tranquilliser Withdrawal Scheme)
- North East Council on Addictions (Tranquilliser Advice and Support Project)
All the organisations specifically for those dependent on tranquillisers which applied have been given funding under this scheme.
Recently Tranx (UK) and the North-East Council on Addictions (NECA) applied for assistance under section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968—a scheme designed primarily to contribute towards the central costs of national voluntary organisations. Since these applications for grants were essentially for local and service projects the Department decided that they did not meet the criteria of the scheme. However, both organisations are well supported by a wide variety of funders, including regional and district health authorities, local authorities, urban aid and charitable trusts, to the sum of approximately £82,000 for Tranx (UK) in 1988–89 and approximately £307,000 for NECA in 1987–88. This demonstrates the growing co-operation between the public and private sectors in the funding of voluntary organisations, a policy the Government have been promoting in this field by means of an additional £6 million a year direct to health authorities specifically to develop drug misuse services, including services for those dependent on tranquillisers.