Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how his Department ensures that the delivery of drug and alcohol treatment by local authorities conforms to the NHS constitution.

Jane Ellison

Section 2 of the Health Act 2009 as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 requires local authorities to have regard to the National Health Service constitution in performing their health service functions which include the commissioning of services to treat dependence on drugs and alcohol.

Public Health England supports local authorities in their public health functions by providing a range of supportive guidance and materials, as well as bespoke data, value for money tools, topical briefings, and advice on good practice.

The Department distributes funding to local authorities through the Public Health Grant to carry out their public health functions. The grant conditions include a requirement for each local authority to have regard to the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from, its drug and alcohol misuse treatment services. Local authorities are also required to report annual expenditure on drug and alcohol services.