Telford & Wrekin Council aims to help more people battling alcohol problems

Telford & Wrekin Council’s health and wellbeing board will meet this week to discuss their updated alcohol and drugs strategy.

There are estimated to be 2,030 alcohol-dependent adults in Telford and Wrekin, higher than the national rate. During the 2021-22 financial year an estimated 15 per cent of adults who are alcohol-dependent were in treatment.

The Telford and Wrekin Alcohol and Drugs strategy between 2024 and 2029 aims to address the problem. Also included in the strategy is the plan to expand the number of bed spaces in local recovery housing.

Figures in the strategy show that the number of people in alcohol treatment has risen 24 per cent from 201 in 2019/20 to 250 in 2022/23.

The number of families with children who are affected by alcohol and other drugs who are receiving ‘intensive support’ during 2022/23 were 115.

For the financial period 2021/22 there was an increase of 42 per cent of young people presenting to treatment for alcohol and drugs in the borough, compared to the previous year.

The report also states that there are estimated to be 899 opiate users in the borough and 634 crack cocaine users. It was reported that during 2021-22 it was estimated that 55 per cent of adults who are opiate-dependent are currently in treatment.

During the last financial year volunteers gave 5,219 hours of their time to support people in ‘early recovery’.

Amongst the strategy’s aims is to expand the range of support and provide specialist support to families and friends of those experiencing problems with alcohol and other drugs.

It also aims to ‘deliver personalised harm reduction interventions’ for young people at risk of drug-related harm. Plans include co-ordinating a local Drug Alert System to ‘disseminate information quickly about novel or contaminated batches’.

The updated strategy also wants to increase the number of assessments for structured alcohol treatment in the community settings. Accessing treatment from ‘all parts’ of the criminal justice system is also highlighted in the plan.

The strategy also includes expanding the ‘appropriate use’ of community alcohol and drugs treatment orders as alternatives to prison sentences.

Telford & Wrekin Council states it has ‘successfully achieved’ the key three aims of its previous 2018-2023 Alcohol and Drugs Strategy.

These were: "Increasing the number of people receiving alcohol treatment, improving outcomes for alcohol and drugs treatment, and providing better support for children and young people affected by their parents’ addiction to alcohol and other drugs."

The council says that the Covid-19 pandemic ‘brought major challenges’ to the implementation of the strategy and had a ‘significant impact’ on access to services.

The updated strategy also highlights how the service will be funded. It says: “The Government’s supplemental substance misuse treatment and recovery (SSMTR) grant has recently been announced for 2024/25 with £442,000 available to the council, and £31,000 for inpatient detox, but the Public Health grant will be announced later as part of future Local Government grant settlement.

“The expenditure forecast for 2023/24 is around £2.5m and 2024/25 is expected to be around £2.7m, and this will be met from within existing and planned resources available from Public Health Grant, SSMTR Government grant and contributions from partners.”