Written question asked by Keith Vaz (Labour) on Thursday, 10 June 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 June 2010. It was answered by Anne Milton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 June 2010 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS spent on (a) all treatments and (b) long-term treatments of alcohol-related illnesses (i) nationally, (ii) in the East Midlands and (iii) in Leicester in each of the last five years.

Answer: The cost of alcohol treatment is met through national health service mainstream expenditure in line with local needs and priorities and data on NHS spend on alcohol treatment is not collected centrally.The National Audit Office (NAO) has carried out an audit of NHS spend on alcohol treatment. Its report, Reducing Alcohol Harm: health services in England for alcohol misuse, was published in November 2008 and found, that where primary care trust expenditure on alcohol services was known, an average of £600,000 was spent on commissioning alcohol services in 2006-07.

Secondary information