Primary care trusts (PCTs) have the lead responsibility to assess the health care needs of their local populations and, in consultation with social care organisations and others, to understand the impact that harmful drinking is having on the health of the local population and to provide adequate treatment provision to tackle this.
In support of this, the Government's renewed alcohol strategy, ‘Safe. Sensible. Social. The Next steps in the National Alcohol Strategy’, sets out a new approach to achieve significant and measurable reductions over a sustained period in the harms caused by alcohol.
In addition, from 2007-8, an additional £15 million has been distributed to PCTs to support development and delivery of alcohol intervention via the PCT general allocation budget. This money has been distributed using the normal weighted capitation formula so the actual amount spent local will vary from area to area.