Londonderry: Government commits £1m to addiction centre

The UK government has confirmed that it will provide £1m for an addiction treatment centre in Londonderry.

It will be provided when a business case from Stormont health department is submitted and approved, said Northern Ireland Office Minister Steve Baker.

Last month the government had previously been urged to clarify its commitment to the project.

Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the city had "waited far too long for this money to materialise".

He said the business case must now be submitted "as soon as possible".

Funding for an addiction centre in Derry was first outlined in the New Decade, New Approach deal, which restored devolved government to Northern Ireland in 2020.

Speaking to a Westminster parliamentary committee on Wednesday, Mr Baker said the government was "committed to supporting the Derry-Londonderry addiction centre and providing it with that £1m" agreed as part of the political deal.

He said that responsibility for developing the plan would lie with Stormont because health was a devolved matter.

"It is for... the Department of Health to formulate its proposal on how to use this allocated £1m," he said.

The Stormont executive is again not functioning because the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has refused to return to power-sharing as part of its campaign against the post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland.

Mr Baker said the Northern Ireland Office had been advised by the Stormont health department that "it is too early to say how a lack of an executive will impact its proposals" for the addiction centre.

The Northlands Centre is a community-based, independent centre, which treats people with addiction problems

He also said it would be a "very sensible approach" to build on the work of the existing Northlands Centre in Derry to develop the project.

Tommy Canning, who runs the Northlands treatment centre, welcomed the government's funding commitment.

"We were impressed by Mr Baker's knowledge of the complexity surrounding addiction and of his determination to address the problems caused by it," he said.

Mr Eastwood said there was an urgent need for progress on the addiction centre.

"There is not a family in our city or anywhere in the north that has not been touched by the scourge of addiction," he said.

"We need to see the Department of Health bring forward a business case to develop the Northlands Centre as soon as possible."

The Department of Health said work was being done to determine the future of addiction services in the Western Health Trust area and elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

"Both of these pieces of work will be used to inform the way forward," it said.

If you have been affected by addiction, help and support is available through the BBC Action Line.