Date: 19 September 2006 08:37

COUNTY COUNCIL ANGER AT REDUCTION IN PROMISED GRANT 
A lower-than-promised grant from Government means drastic cutbacks will have to be made to 
vital substance misuse work in Cambridgeshire. 

Senior Councillors are furious that a 40% increase promised last year for 2006/07 has been 
reduced to an increase of just 6.4%.

Along with organisations such as the police, probation, health service and voluntary organisations, 
the County Council is a member of the Cambridgeshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT). T
he DAAT is responsible for the local delivery of the Government's updated National Drugs Strategy 2002. 
Action relating to young people and substance misuse is set out in the Cambridgeshire Young People's 
Substance Misuse Strategy 2005-08. 

The DAAT set a budget based on the promised 40% grant increase. Its plans for using the grant 
had already been approved locally and services had been notified of the level of funding they 
could expect. However, the DAAT now has to make cuts to most areas of the service in order to 
operate with a grant increase of just 6.4%.

The key areas of the Strategy are:
· To ensure a joined up approach to drug and alcohol misuse and young people
· To ensure all young people have access to appropriate substance misuse interventions
· To provide a consistent, high quality entitlement programme of preventative drug and 
alcohol education for all young people aged 4 to 18
· To reduce harm to children of substance misusing parents
· To ensure parents appropriate receive information, help, support and advice

The revised budget, which was discussed by Councillors on the Inclusion Service Development 
Group (SDG), includes cuts to most areas of the DAAT's work.

Among the areas forced to cut back are drug outreach work and alcohol outreach work with young 
people in schools and other youth settings, the substance misuse treatment service for young people, 
drug awareness work with young travellers and campaign work promoting the 'talk to Frank' 
website and helpline.

Councillors noted that while the Government had reduced the funding for the DAAT, it had not 
reduced the increased targets in line with the budget cuts.

On behalf of the DAAT, County Council Chief Executive Ian Stewart wrote to the Government 
setting out concerns over the late timing of the reductions, the difficulties they would cause 
and asking that it reconsiders its opinion. However, Councillors were told that the government 
office had rejected the DAAT's request.

Coun Shona Johnstone, County Council Cabinet Member for Children and Young People's Services, 
said: "This represents managerial ineptitude at the highest level of Government. It is bad enough 
to be told that a 40% increase is now a mere 6.4% increase, but to be told nearly half way through 
the financial year when budgets have already been set is appalling."

"These unexpected cuts are particularly painful because it is the most vulnerable in society 
who will suffer. It will make life extremely difficult not only for the County Council, but also 
for the voluntary organisations and partners who provide these vital services. It is particularly 
frustrating knowing that the work they had planned would have saved both money and probably 
lives in the future."

"Our Drug and Alcohol Action Team does a superb job in difficult circumstances. Their work 
will be made more difficult by this ill advised decision to cut the grant half way through 
the year, when commitments have already been undertaken."

John Reynolds