Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 10 November 2008. It was answered by Baroness Primarolo (Labour) on Thursday, 13 November 2008 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Leicester City Primary Care Trust

Question: (2) what the Leicester City Primary Care Trust budget for preventative measures against alcohol dependency was in (a) 2007 and (b) 1997; what the average waiting time for specialist treatment for alcohol dependency in the trust area was in each of those years; how much the trust spent on residential treatment for alcohol dependency in each of those years; and what its budget for alcohol awareness campaigns was in each of those years.

Answer: The information requested is not collected centrally.Safe. Sensible. Social. The next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy was published in 2007 and sets out this Government's strategy to tackle harmful and binge drinking. A copy of this document is already in the Library.Funding is allocated directly to primary care trusts (PCTs), including Leicester City PCT, who are responsible for commissioning appropriate services to meet the needs of their local populations. This includes investing in preventing and treating harm caused by alcohol. Leicester City PCT will be receiving £150,000 as part of a pilot scheme to trailblaze new approaches to tackle alcohol misuse in health inequality hotspots across the city.

Secondary information