A DRUG and alcohol charity with a base in Okehampton is calling for the government to re-think proposed cuts to local authority health spending.

After new figures from the Office of National Statistics showing the number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales has increased for the second year in a row, Addaction has called for the Government to reconsider cuts to public health spending.

Addaction works in partnership with EDP to deliver drug and alcohol service RISE Recovery and Integration Services in Devon, including in Okehampton.

Simon Antrobus, chief executive of Addaction, said: ‘These tragic figures paint a stark picture of the shifting landscape of drug misuse in England and Wales. 

‘Drug treatment services across the country have seen an increase in the number of people seeking help for opiates or crack cocaine and this is only likely to increase further as the effect of increased opiate availability and purity is felt.

‘Meanwhile, the Department of Health is proposing a £200-million reduction to the Public Health Grant, which will hit the capacity of drug services commissioned by Local Authorities.

‘Addaction is one of the largest providers of drug treatment services across the UK, working with some 15,000 people every year whose lives and the lives of their families have been destroyed by opiates. 

‘As the landscape of drug availability and purity shifts, that support will be needed more than ever.

‘We welcome the Government’s commitment to supporting people struggling with addiction. But we would urge them to ensure that the proposed cuts to the Public Health Grant offer the same level of protection to local authority clinical spending as has been promised to NHS commissioned services.

‘The stakes are simply too high to do otherwise.’