Druglink article 2014 – 1987: Rehab funding – the funding crisis for rehabs by David Tomlinson

The 1990 Community Care Act changed the funding arrangements for places at residential rehabilitation placing the onus now on social services to provide the cash. Led by David Turner, SCODA fought a campaign to retain a ring fence around services for drug users. The campaign culminated in a SCODA picket in 1993 of the first European Drug Prevention Week held in London. This was a severe embarrassment to the UK government, to the extent that all the evidence points to David’s removal as Director of SCODA in 1994, as the price SCODA was forced to pay to retain government funding.

The financial pressures on residential rehabilitation have been unrelenting. The housing-related funding stream ‘Supporting People’ (2003) did provide a new revenue opportunity, but only to the extent that rehabs could demonstrate they were supporting’ rather than ‘caring’ for people. The programme still exists, but in a re-run of the Community care Act, the ring-fence has been removed allowing its gradual incorporation into local authority wider grants.

Rehab funding – the funding crisis for rehabs (PDF)