Millions of pounds have been slashed from south-east London council budgets in relation to addiction treatment services as the number of open public rehab clinics has halved in six years, new figures have revealed.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information act show that borough councils in Bexley, Bromley and Lewisham have had almost £3 million cut from their annual budgets for drug and alcohol treatment services since 2013.

Addicts in Lewisham are the worst affected as the council have seen their budget slip from £5,988,384 to £3,866,100, a 35 per cent decrease in just six years.

Bexley also saw a dip in cash available for treatment services with their annual budget falling from £2,360,517 to £1,885,000 over the same period, a difference of 20 per cent.

Bromley had the lowest reduction in their budget with services within the borough now availing of £1,805,000, a decrease of 18 per cent since 2013.

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This comes after 18 local authorities in London responded to FOI requests from UKAT, admitting that they have seen a whopping £23 million cut from vital drug and alcohol programmes during the same time period.

A simultaneous question put to the Care Quality Commission also showed that the number of public rehab centres still open in London has dropped from 42 to 18 in six years, a double-whammy blow to addicts across the city.

Managing Director of UKAT, Eytan Alexander said: "Public residential rehabs regulated by the CCQ are reliant on referrals from their local councils funding patient treatment.

"If less money is being spent by local councils on placing those most vulnerable into treatment, then we will undoubtedly see even more public rehabs having been forced to close their doors by this time next year.

"Not everyone can afford to pay for their addiction treatment, but everyone deserves to be treated and to be given a second chance at life. But at this rate, where will addicts living here go to get help?

"We urge councils across London to make better budget decisions next year; support your local free rehab services because at the minute it feels like you’ve lost all humanity."

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Responding to the figures, a spokeswoman from Lewisham Council said: "Between 2010 and 2020 our budget will have been cut by over 60 per cent which has led to an inevitable reduction in spending.

"Despite this, we continue to work with partners to make the most of the resources we have to support our vulnerable residents."

A Bexley Council spokeswoman said: "We have made the service more effective and easier to access for this vulnerable group.

"We have reduced duplicate appointments with different agencies so that users of the service are no longer required to attend multiple assessments to get the help they need.

"This is a reduction in spending rather than a drop in funding.

"Integrating services has enabled us to reduce spending primarily on overheads and management costs and most importantly to deliver a better service for those who need it."

Bromley Council have been contacted for a comment.