To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to work with relevant authorities to reduce alcohol related deaths in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.
Answered on
28 February 2025
In 2023, there were 8,274 alcohol-specific deaths, namely deaths wholly due to alcohol, in England, which was an increase of 63.8% from 5,050 deaths in 2006 and a 4.6% increase since 2022. The majority of these deaths are caused by alcohol-related liver disease.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths, which is being reviewed in light of the recent Office for National Statistics data to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths and responding to these. In 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. Additionally, OHID has published the document, Commissioning Quality Standard: alcohol and drug services, providing guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services.
The Department of Health and Social Care will soon publish the UK clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment which will include recommendations on developing effective, accessible and inclusive services. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to work with all local areas to address unmet need and drug and alcohol misuse deaths, and to drive improvements in continuity of care. This includes the Unmet Need Toolkit which can be used by local areas to assess local need and plan to meet it.
The Department of Health and Social Care is continuing to invest in improvements to local drug and alcohol treatment services. Funding for drug and alcohol treatment services is provided through the public health grant. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. The London Borough of Havering Council was allocated £626,673 of targeted funding in 2024/25 for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services through a combination of grants.