NEW figures have laid bare the extent of treatment services cuts, as record numbers die from alcohol-related diseases and drug poisoning.

In 2016/17 the total local authorities spend on drug and alcohol misuse services was £762 million, falling to £690m in 2019/20, according to analysis for Labour by the House of Commons Library. 

This is equivalent to a 15 per cent cut over four years in real terms.

Four town halls, South Tyneside, Wiltshire, Staffordshire, and Medway, saw real-terms cuts of more than 40 per cent.

In 2020 a record 7,423 people in England and Wales died from diseases that were a direct consequence of alcohol, the findings show.

And a record 4,561 people died from causes related to drug poisoning in England and Wales.

Local authority public health budgets have faced years of cuts, forcing councils to make incredibly difficult decisions about the services they provide, Labour said.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “It’s unacceptable for public health services that tackle alcohol and drug addiction [to be] left so weakened because of deep cuts when we know that they can cause huge harm and death.”