Government Offices are working with regional partners to deliver the Government’s National Drug Strategy, via both Drugs Action Teams and the Drugs Intervention Programme.
More information on the national picture
Drugs
Regional key areas of work include:
- early identification and substance misuse interventions with vulnerable
young people and drug information for all young people and their families
- addressing issues around housing and employment and effective community
engagement
- more, better and fairer drug treatment
- an integrated approach to cutting drug-related crime
- reduction of drug supply within local communities.
More information
on delivery of the National Drug Strategy in the North East.
Alcohol
The National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England recognised that
the provision of alcohol treatment in England was very patchy and that some
areas could not provide access to the full range of support needed. Alcohol
treatment is currently provided by GPs and specialist addiction services
but most of the 500 alcohol treatment services in England are located
within the voluntary sector. The North East Council on Addictions is one
such organisation, a charity working on substance and alcohol misuse in the
region since 1974.
In February 2007 we worked with the North East Regional
Alcohol Advisory Group to produce a regional alcohol misuse strategy
and action plan.
45 per cent of violent crime in the North East is alcohol related.
Figures published by the North East Public Health Observatory in July 2008
showed that:
-
in all 23 local authority areas in the North East, the proportion
of binge drinkers (those who consume more than twice the daily
recommended units in a single drinking session) was among the highest
10 per cent in the country
-
in over a third of those areas, the rate of hospital admissions
for alcohol related harm was among the highest 10 per cent in the
country.
In February 2009, the Regional Alcohol Office was launched. The first
of its kind in the country, the office is based in Darlington and is
managed by a board comprising senior representatives from Government
Office, police, Public Health and local government.
More information
on delivery of the National Alcohol Strategy in the North
East.
