New funding allocated for drug and alcohol recovery schemes

Public Health England has pledged to provide additional capital funding for recovery-orientated drug and alcohol treatment centres across the country.

The ten million pound funding pot will be distributed via local authorities to voluntary sector and NHS-based service providers in order to support needs-led projects that contribute towards helping people to overcome dependency and addiction.

All of England's recovery-focused adult drug and alcohol treatment services are entitled to bid for a share of the money. This is the fourth wave of government capital investment funding to support drug and alcohol dependency schemes of this kind.

Successful applicants will need to prove their funding proposals are recovery-oriented.

Rosanna O'Connor, Public Health England's director of alcohol and drugs, said: "We are delighted to announce this additional investment which will provide valuable support for ambitious and creative recovery-focused initiatives across the country."

Between 2011 and 2012, an estimated 8.9 percent of adults used an illegal drug. It is estimated that crimes related to drugs cost the UK 13.3 billion pounds annually.