§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many drug rehabilitation centres there were in(a) 1997 and (b) 2002; what funding they received; and what measures have been taken since 1997 to improve drug rehabilitation rates. [121128]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonFor the purposes of this answer, drug rehabilitation centres are referred to as drug treatment services.
Drugscope's "Drug Problems: where to get help" (2002), estimates that there are around 715 drug treatment services in England, an increase of over one-third since 1997.
The National Treatment Agency oversees the pooled drug treatment budget, which was first introduced in 2001–02. Prior to this, mainstream health funds were spent on drug treatment, so it is not possible to provide figures. The pooled budget stands at £236 million this year, an increase of 23 per cent. on last year's allocation of £195 million. This money is allocated to drug action teams, who make the decisions on how funding is spent at a local level. Thus, it is not possible to identify exactly how much money was spent on drug rehabilitation centres specifically.
We are not only committed to increasing the numbers entering treatment, but to ensuring that we increase the numbers of drug misusers sustained and completing treatment programmes.