§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health why his Department stopped its grant to the tranquilliser withdrawal group TRANX; and what other similar groups his Department now supports.
§ Mr. FreemanTRANX was grant-aided under the Department's central funding initiative for drug misuse for the maximum three-year period. Following this, TRANX obtained further funding from local statutory authorities. As TRANX continued to experience funding difficulties negotiations took place with the local statutory authorities but no agreement could be reached whereby funding could continue.
It is Government policy that support and planning for direct client services should be the responsibility of the local statutory authorities which are best placed to decide, which organisations best fit in with local service plans and budgets. In order to help regions develop such services for drug misuse, substantial amounts of earmarked funding have been allocated each year since 1986–87. This funding totalled nearly £15 million in 1989–90.
When the North West Thames regional health authority and the London borough grants unit decided not to continue to support TRANX the Department wrote in December 1989 explaining that because of this and given the constraints on central funds no further grant aid was available from the Department.
The Department is supporting MIND to produce a national directory of local tranquilliser services and public information material on tranquillisers.