HC Deb 02 July 2003 vol 408 cc350-1W
Mr. Wray

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff are employed in drug rehabilitation centres, how much they are paid; what percentage of staff are ex-drug addicts; and if he will make a statement on the role played by advice of ex-drug addicts. [121129]

Miss Melanie Johnson

This information is not available centrally.

Mr. Wray

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance is available to non-publicly run drug rehab centres; what coordination there is with other drug rehabilitation centres; and what assessment has been made of the success rate of non-Government run centres. [121130]

Miss Melanie Johnson

The National Treatment Agency oversees the pooled drug treatment budget which stands this year at £236 million, an increase of 23 per cent, on last year's allocation. This money is allocated to drug action teams, which make the decisions on how funding on statutory and non-Government centres is spent at a local level.

In addition, both statutory and non-Government centres also receive funds from mainstream primary care trust and social services funds. This is expenditure based on local needs and local decision making, so details are not available centrally.

The National Treatment Outcomes Research Study (NTORS) looked at residential rehabilitation services, which are primarily run by non-Government centres. NTORS showed that clients entering residential rehabilitation and inpatient programmes made substantial improvements in terms of abstinence from, and reduction of, illicit drug misuse, criminal activity, levels of injecting and psychological health.