AN INCREASE in funding to tackle drug and alcohol dependency in Hampshire has been announced.

Hampshire County Council said the additional £800,000 funding will go to support projects for people dependent on alcohol and drugs. 

It hopes to reduce drug and alcohol harm and improve the survival rate for those affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

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MP for Basingstoke Maria Miller welcomed the news.

She said: “An extra £800,000 in funding from Hampshire County Council to tackle drug and alcohol abuse demonstrates the importance of this issue across the county.

"Drug and alcohol abuse has severe effects on the health and wellbeing of those that are dependant, but it also has profound effects on abusers’ friends and families as well as the wider community.”

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The additional funding is a part of the government’s ‘From harm to hope’ national drugs strategy, which has been created to reduce the supply and demand for drugs and deliver a high-quality treatment and recovery system.

Ms Miller added: “I know many residents across Basingstoke will join me in welcoming this news and doing everything we can to protect our town and its residents from substance misuse.”

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