§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he is taking to reduce waiting times for drug rehabilitation in Crosby; what the budget is for the drug action team in Crosby in 2004–05; and how many people have been seen by the drug action team in each of the last three years. [177855]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested is not available centrally. The Crosby area is covered by the Sefton drug action team, which is equivalent to the Sefton Metropolitan local authority area.
1547WThe Government have invested substantial extra funding for drug treatment with the total pooled drug treatment budget increasing by over 100 per cent. since it was introduced in 2001–02. In 2004–05, the total pooled drug treatment budget allocation for the Sefton drug action team was £1,490,000, including young people's pooled drug treatment budget allocation, which is issued separately from the adult allocation.
The latest national waiting time figures show that additional funding has helped to reduce average waiting times for drug treatment from five to 11 weeks in 2001 to two to four weeks by April 2004.
A census of drug users in treatment was carried out in 2000 to estimate the number of drug users in England in contact with drug treatment agencies in 2000–01. The number of drug users reported as being in treatment in the Sefton drug action team area was 936. Data has been published in a statistical bulletin "Statistics from the Regional Drug Misuse Databases on drug misusers in treatment in England, 2000–01". This is available on the Department's website at http://www.publications. doh.gov.uk/public/sb0133.htm.