Addiction services are being slashed across two thirds of the country after Government funding was cut, new analysis shows.
Labour warns the £43 million scaling back of vital alcohol and drug treatment programmes including for child addicts will have devastating consequences in communities.
It comes after Government transferred responsibility for public health to local authorities and cut its national funding by £800 million.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary will raise the issue during an emotional talk about his upbringing as the son of an alcoholic at the party’s annual conference in Brighton.
Jon Ashworth MP, whose father was an alcoholic, warns that the Tories are “dismantling the country’s public health system” after the cuts to counselling and addiction support.
He told the Mirror: “I chose to speak out personally about my own late’s dad’s problems with drink and I’ve seen for myself the tragic impact of alcohol addiction on a person and often their family.
“There are two million children growing up with an alcoholic parent. For too long they have suffered in silence. I’m determined to change that.
“These shocking figures reveal the scale of the cuts to alcohol and drug addiction services and will impact on the health and well being of thousands of children.”
Analysis of local authority spending on public health shows 106 councils in England are reducing their drug treatment and prevention budgets this year by £28.4 million.
Alcohol treatment and prevention budgets are being cut by £6.5 million with 95 councils scaling back support.
Drug and alcohol support services which specifically support children are being slashed by 70 councils by a total of £8.3 million.
Jon was an only child brought up by his barmaid mum Maria in Manchester during the week and stayed with his dad at weekends.
His dad, Jon senior, was a casino croupier and split from Maria when the now MP for Leicester was aged seven.
Jon has said: “Dad would spend the weekend drunk. I was effectively the carer.”
Jon senior missed his son’s wedding in 2010, as he feared letting him down in front of important guests like Gordon Brown. Months later his father died.
The problem affects 2.5 million children who can suffer depression and self-harm. They are three times more likely to consider suicide.
Mr Ashworth continued: “These are staggering cuts to addiction and prevention services including cuts to support for children with drug and alcohol problems.
“The Tories are cynically imposing multimillion pound cuts on councils and the result is reductions in essential services to prevent and treat addiction.
“It’s yet another example of how this Tory government is dismantling the country’s public health system. The long term effect will be growing addiction problems in society and increases the long term costs for the health services.
“The Government are yet again failing some of the most vulnerable in society.”
In 2013/14, the responsibility and funding for many public health services including drug and alcohol services were transferred from the NHS to local authorities.
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Analysis of Government data carried out two months ago by the King’s Fund outlined planned Government cuts of at least £600 million by 2020/21.
This comes on top of £200 million already cut from the 2015/16 budget for public health.
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We are providing local authorities with £16 billion over the current spending period to deliver public health services for their communities.
“Local areas are best placed to understand local needs and a clear condition of spending this is that they must consider the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from, their drug and alcohol-misuse treatment services.”
Jon will join comedian and former heroin addict Russell Brand at a fringe event at Labour Party Conference in Brighton today(Mon) to discuss addiction and mental health.