Number of local alcoholics claiming benefits increases

The number of people living in Rochdale and claiming benefits because of their alcoholism has increased, Public Health England has revealed.

PHE’s data is based on people qualifying for either Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, with alcohol misuse listed as the main disabling condition.

The 2018 Health Profiles report – using data from 2016 – reveals that in Rochdale, 380 people claimed benefits because of alcoholism, or 2.8% of claimants.

In comparison, the report reveals that across the North West, there were 9,650 claimants of benefits due to alcohol, and 44,860 people in England.

Alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the NHS about £3.5 billion per year and society as a whole £21 billion annually.

The Government has said that everyone has a role to play in reducing the harmful use of alcohol, and that alcohol-related issues can be reduced through local interventions to reduce alcohol misuse and harm.

However, leading addiction treatment firm UKAT – who lodged a Freedom of Information request to Rochdale Council in April this year – suggests that Rochdale Council isn’t heeding the advice of Government and is lowering its spend on public drug and alcohol treatment services year on year.

UKAT’s FOI shows that in 2012/13, Rochdale Council spent £4.1M of its Public Health Grant on drug and alcohol treatment services. This year however, it is only spending £2.5M; £1.6M less than it did six years ago.

Eytan Alexander, Founder of UKAT, commented: “It just doesn’t make sense. Spending less on public treatment services will mean that those most vulnerable in society will continue to struggle.

“The fact that hundreds of people in Rochdale are now claiming benefits because of their problem with alcohol just proves that slashing free treatment is a false economy.”

Andrea Fallon, director of public health at Rochdale Council, said: “Almost every council service has been affected by the huge reductions in funding from central government that have been imposed since 2010.

“However, it is too simplistic to say that a higher proportion of claimants can be attributed to reductions in the amount spent on services. Despite budget reductions from 2015/16 to 2016/17 the number of claimants with alcohol misuse listed as the main disabling condition fell, as did the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions.

“In recognition of local needs, we have just invested additional health and social care transformation funding to target the most vulnerable and get people the help they need as soon as possible.

“We have also worked closely with our partners in the job centres to ensure that dependant drinkers know where to access support and treatment and the figures support the effectiveness of this strategy. Our aim is always to minimise the impact of cuts on service users and our joint commissioning approach this time allows us to get the most for the funding we have available.

“Despite operating in a difficult financial climate, drug and alcohol services in Rochdale have no waiting lists and haven’t for a number of years, so anyone who requires support is able to access it.”

If you would like to talk to someone about alcohol or drug concerns, contact Turning Point on 0300 555 0234.