Government Still Not Getting to Grips With Weston’s Drug Problem, New Figures Reveal

Weston-super-Mare MP John Penrose has called on the Government to “get it’s act together” as new data shows that the system is still failing over a third of addicts referred to the seaside town.

The data, provided to the MP by the National Offender Management Service, shows that over a third of addicts referred to Weston from London are still being transferred without local services being properly notified in advance.

 

In one instance it took five weeks for the system to work properly.

In the past, if the referral process did not work properly and an addict dropped out of treatment before local services were told they were in Weston, there was no-one to reassess them and put them on a new programme so they were effectively abandoned in the town. 

As a result, and with the support of John Penrose’s Cleaner Weston Campaign, the Safer and Stronger North Somerset Partnership has come up with an accreditation scheme, which helps spot the problems and deal with them promptly.

But Weston’s scheme is unique, which means that addicts who are referred to other parts of the UK will still suffer from the same problems, which Weston used to have. 

Also the Weston scheme costs local taxpayers money, which could be spent elsewhere if the Government’s national processes worked properly.

Mr Penrose said: “These figures are extremely disturbing. We’ve managed to get the Government to endorse the aims and objectives of the Cleaner Weston Campaign, but they aren’t moving fast enough to make the practical changes needed to tighten up the referral process.

“A lot of our problems with drugs and crime cropped up when addicts were sent to Weston without telling the town’s local services. If those addicts dropped out of rehab they’d fall off the radar and frequently stay in Weston, on drugs, and committing crimes to fund their habit.

“Weston’s new registration scheme deals with the local problem, but not the national issue.

"Very few places have schemes like Weston’s – we’re trailblazers – which means addicts who are referred for treatment elsewhere in Britain will be at risk until the Government fixes this hole.

"And local taxpayers in Weston and the villages are having to fund a scheme which sweeps up the Government’s mess.

"If the national system worked properly, we could spend the money on other projects instead of dealing with the Government’s failure.”