Every pound invested in drug and alcohol treatment services delivers extraordinary returns: saving lives, reducing crime, easing NHS pressures, and breaking cycles of disadvantage.
At Change Grow Live, we have rebuilt our workforce, expanded access to care, and helped hundreds of thousands of people to achieve the stability they deserve. Without sustained, ringfenced funding, these hard-won gains are perilously close to being undone.
Disinvestment would set our country back and jeopardise the very safety of the communities we support, as emerging threats – like the growing danger of synthetic substances – multiply. Withdrawing funding will cost more in the long run than any short-term savings can justify.
This is why we have are calling for continued investment in these services.
We know that:
1. Drug and alcohol services deliver value for money
The harm related to illicit drug use in England costs an estimated £19.3 billion. Adult drug treatment reflects a return-on-investment of £4 for every £1 invested in the short term – potentially increasing to £21 over 10 years.
2. Drug and alcohol services help keep people economically active
With sufficiently funded services, we have seen 52% of people who use Individual Placement and Support services successfully obtaining employment within 18 months – compared with just 16% prior to receiving this funding.
3. Drug and alcohol services break down barriers to opportunity
Drug and alcohol services open up life-changing opportunities for young people. In the past year, 85% of young people who finished treatment with Change Grow Live were no longer self-harming, and 53% reduced or stopped offending behaviour.
4. Drug and alcohol services make our streets safer
Drug and alcohol treatment services have been demonstrated to reduce offending by 33%, playing a crucial role in keeping streets safe and easing pressures on already overwhelmed criminal justice services.
5. Drug and alcohol services ease pressure on an already strained NHS
For illicit opioid users, there are 3.8 million avoidable healthcare appointments associated with primary care and secondary care. This costs the NHS an estimated £414 million per year. The cost of alcohol to the NHS and healthcare is estimated at £4.91 billion.
6. Disinvestment would undo hard earned progress at the worst possible moment
New synthetic drugs present an unprecedented public health threat. They have already contributed to the deaths of almost 200 people, and in 2024 our testing strips detected synthetic opioids in 482 samples.
To sustain the life-changing progress we’ve made, continued investment in drug and alcohol treatment services is essential. Any reduction in funding would reverse the significant progress would risk the lives and safety of many people who use our services. The case for continued investment has never been clearer.
Read the full Change Grow Live Representation to HM Treasury Spending Review Phase 2.