Drug and alcohol services to face funding cuts

East Sussex County Council plans to cut spending on drugs and alcohol services as it looks to secure a new contract.

At a meeting earlier, the authority's lead member for adult social care, Carl Maynard, agreed to begin the process of recommissioning its drugs and alcohol treatment service.

The authority currently commissions the service from health and social care charity Change, Grow, Live, but the contract is due to expire in March 2026.

The proposed value of the new contract is £4.8m, about £300,000 lower than the current contract, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The reduction in the contract's value is partly due to cuts being made in its adult social care budget, but also comes as a result of moving non-clinical treatment for 18 to 25-year-olds to a specialist service, the council said.

However, it said the Public Health Grant investment into drug and alcohol treatment services will be protected.

Reduced funding was previously raised as part of budget-setting proposals discussed by cabinet members in September and November last year.

Papers from the meetings, which put the savings to about £319,000 over two years, tied the cuts to recovery services.

These are services which help people maintain their sobriety and make positive changes to their lives.

According to a report to Mr Maynard, East Sussex has seen alcohol related hospital admissions rise steadily since 2009/10.

The report said the county saw 77 drug and alcohol related deaths (DARDs) in 2022.

It goes on to say 67 confirmed DARDs occurred within the county in 2023, but this figure could increase as inquests remain open on 20 further potential DARDs.

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