High numbers of benefits claimed in Rochdale for alcoholism

High numbers of benefits are claimed in Rochdale for alcoholism

Rochdale is the second highest borough in Greater Manchester experiencing benefits claimed due to alcoholism, according to Office for National Statistics.

In 2016, there were 289.6 claimants of Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance with alcohol misuse as the main disabling condition per 1,000 in the Rochdale borough.

This figure was also the sixth highest in the north west and the seventh highest in the whole of England, behind Blackpool (575.2), Blackburn and Darwen (334.4), Bournemouth (326.5), Manchester (311.5), Liverpool (299.3), Wirral (292.7).

The average number of claimants in the north west was 219.3, compared to the lower average in England of 132.8.

The figures also showed that last year in the Rochdale borough, there were 574 people in treatment for specialist alcohol misuse services: 3.6% of a total 15,876 people seeking treatment in the north west, and just 0.68% of the 85,035 seeking treatment nationally.

Between 2011 and 2014, almost a third of adults in Rochdale (30.6%) said they abstained from drinking alcohol: the highest amount in Greater Manchester and second highest in the north west. Nationally, just 15.5% of adults abstained from drinking alcohol, with most abstaining in Kensington and Chelsea (51.5%).

For those undergoing treatment in Rochdale, the future looked promising, as 44.4% of alcohol users who left drug treatment successfully did not re-present to treatment within six months, higher than both the England and north west averages.

And for those waiting for treatment in relation to alcohol, it was also good news as just 0.2% of users in the Rochdale borough were waiting longer than three weeks – the second lowest figure in the north west behind Blackburn and Darwen.

Nationally, 4.1% of those seeking treatment waited longer than three weeks, increasing to 5.1% in the north west. In Manchester, 27.2% waited longer than three weeks, the fourth highest figure in England, with Bristol topping the tables with 40.5%.