FUNDING for the treatment of drug and alcohol misuse in York is to be cut by more than half a million pounds.

A report that will go before the city’s health and adult social care committee next week says the authority is to slash its contributions by £545,000 by 2021/22.

The decision has been made following research which showed on average local authorities in the region spend around 30 per cent of their public health grant allocation on substance misuse.

However in York’s case the figure is just under 36 per cent - considerably higher than the regional average.

Public health improvement manager Leigh Bell said: “The prevalence of substance misuse in York does not justify this higher level of spend. therefore it is proposed to set aside a budget for substance misuse services which is equal to 30 per cent of the public health grant,over the next five years.”

She said a new contract would be sought for the next three years, with an option to extend it by up to four more years, depending on quality and performance.

She added: “This is considered to be the option which will lead to the council obtaining best value for money and will provide a stable and supportive environment for service users”.

The council estimates there are 840 opiate users living in York, and 42,202 adults in York who have problems with alcohol.