Hackney awarded £1m to help tackle effects of substance abuse

Hackney Council is set to spend £1 million on fighting the effects of substance misuse – thanks to a government scheme intended to cut the number of drug-related deaths in the UK.

The borough is one of eight pilot areas picked out by the Home Office’s Project ADDER (Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery).

The initiative has an £80 million budget for a ‘whole-system approach’ to reducing societal and personal harm inflicted by drug use.

The Town Hall will now draw together charities and agencies to provide support, education and ways out of dependency for drug users.

Hackney’s health chief Cllr Chris Kennedy said: “We very much welcome this funding boost to help us tackle drug-related deaths and help us reduce the harm caused by the supply and use of drugs in our community.

“This funding will help us support people into drug treatment and recovery programmes, targeting one of the core problems of anti-social behaviour locally.

“The programme means we can make a real difference to the lives of those who are victims of the effects of drugs in our community.”

The council will work with neighbouring Tower Hamlets and local police, who have both been given similar funding, to reduce drug-related offending and disrupt the drugs market.

Project ADDER was created as a result of an independent review which revealed that the number of drug-related deaths in the UK is higher than ever, with three million users contributing to a market worth £10 billion a year.

The cash boost is the biggest increase in drug treatment funding for 15 years.

Last year, the government invested £23 million into drug misuse support for homeless people, and that has been topped up by £52 million this year.

Other areas receiving similar funding to Hackney are Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Newcastle, Swansea Bay, Bristol, Wakefield, Liverpool, Knowsley and the Wirral.