A SCHEME which helps young drug users turn their lives around faces “potential disaster” because of government plans to slash its budget.

Over the next two years, cash given to Bolton Young People’s Substance Misuse could be slashed from £427,610 to £177,409.

The potential impact on the service, which runs a number of initiatives, has been described as “stark” and “potentially disastrous”.

Services for young people with drug and alcohol problems include Project 360, which provides treatments including detox education and employment support and emotional health help to under 18s. The project was has been a finalist in the Nursing Times Promoting Social Inclusion Award.

Gillian Merron MP, minister for public health, is responsible for drug treatment and praised the “excellent work” done by Bolton Substance Misuse Service on a recent visit.

But now her fellow ministers look set to sanction the cost-cutting move, affecting the services for young people.

Under proposals by the National Treatment Agency — which was set up by Government to improve the treatment for drug misuse in England — Bolton Council is effectively being penalised for identifying earlier than other authorities that it had a young drug-using population and establishing services to tackle the problem.

The development of similar services across the country at different rates has led to a imbalance of funding among regions and is being addressed by reducing the grant of the higher-funded authorities.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “We currently have a very highly rated drug and alcohol misuse service for young people. Obviously the cuts in funding are severe and could profoundly impact on service delivery.”

Bolton Council bosses say they have “prioritised and invested more highly in services for young people, particularly the most vulnerable,” than many other parts of the country.

The spokesman added: “We will be doing everything we can to identify alternative funding to enable us to maintain the very high standard of service we currently provide.”

The cuts must be approved by the Government, but Town Hall bosses say it is unlikely the proposals will be changed because the “impetus behind the changes came from Ministers”.

Bolton South East MP Brian Iddon, who invited Ms Merron to see Bolton Substance Misuse Service, said: “I am shocked to hear this. I will be asking Gillian Merron how Bolton will cope. It has a youth substance misuse problem and I do not want the situation to go backwards.”