The total Pooled Treatment Budget (PTB) for 2009/10 will be £406m, an £8m increase on 2008/09.
The Adult PTB will be £381.3m, an increase of just over 2% compared to 2008/9. This reflects the government’s continuing commitment to ensure drug treatment is adequately resourced and is an endorsement of the benefits well delivered and effective treatment provide to service users.
This is the second year of the three year process to introduce a fairer funding regime for drug treatment. The NTA remains confident that sufficient funds will be available to all partnerships during 2009/10 to meet their obligations to their communities and their service users. Those partnerships who will receive a reduced allocation next year will continue to receive more resources per person treated than the national average and need to use these excess resources to plan for the further reduction they will experience in 2010/11, if their performance does not improve. The areas who are receiving an increase in allocation need to ensure that their additional resources are deployed to deliver best value.
As previously indicated, the allocations for young people remain the same as last year. During 2010/11 DCSF, DH and NTA will be reviewing the current allocation process for the YP element of the PTB to ensure that the available resources are distributed as equitably and effectively as possible.
How is PTB funding allocated?
The way the PTB funding is allocated to local drug action teams changed for 2007/08 to introduce a fairer criterion for allocating funding. The previous formula, which was based on a series of deprivation measures to address need, had resulted in a wide variation of PTB allocation per head, which in 2007/08 was between £1200 and £4200 per head.
The principle behind the new formula is to allocate resources where they are most needed and will be most effective, so that performance and value are maximised. This is calculated by taking into account caseload complexity of the local treatment population; the mix of cases of problem and other drug users; area cost differential; and a move to equalise the central contribution per person over the three year Comprehensive Spending Review period 2008/09 – 2010/11. The formula has been implemented in a phased way over three years in order to ensure that those partnerships experiencing large shifts in funding would have sufficient time to plan changes to service delivery at a local level and avoid undue disruption. As a result, the maximum reduction in 2008/09 for any partnership was set at 5%, in 2009/10 at 15% and in 2010/11 at 30%.
What other sources of funding are there?
Partnerships will receive other sources of funding at a local level, estimated at £200m nationally, which includes Primary Care Trusts, local authorities, the police and probation service. Local commissioners are free to set their own spending priorities so should be considered alongside the funding which comes from the PTB. In addition the Home Office provides specific funding for the Drug Interventions Programme which facilitates access to treatment for offenders.
What time period is the formula based on?
September to September each year, which is the latest activity data available to ensure that the allocation announcements are made in early January to incorporate them into treatment planning and funding decisions for the forthcoming financial year. By using the same time period each year the relative growth or decrease in activity over the 12 months can be compared to the national average which will then determine the proportional change in allocation a partnership will then receive.