The cost of combatting drugs and alcohol misuse in Trafford will to rise to more than £2m as deaths resulting from addiction have risen to an all-time high.

In one year alone there were 85 alcohol-related fatalities and 11 from drugs, councillors on the borough’s executive have been told.

Addiction costs Trafford an estimated £110.2m – or £468 per head – according to health chiefs.

Cllr Jane Slater, Trafford executive member for healthy and independent lives, delivered a report to colleagues, who resolved to extend the joint deal the authority has with Salford and Bolton to extend services provided by the Greater Manchester Mental Health trust (GMMH).

The cost to Trafford is rising by four per cent to £2.1m.

The services provided by Achieve is made up of partners including GMHH and a range of voluntary organisations.

“Deaths from drugs and alcohol misuse are the highest on record,” said Cllr Slater. She said that apart from the deaths, many more addicts had been admitted to hospital and were living with illnesses resulting from such abuse, such as liver disease, cancer and strokes.

“It is estimated that there are 2,000 dependent drinkers in Trafford,” Cllr Slater went on. “We know that addiction can make people lonely and fearful of stigmatisation and we know that a lot of people use alcohol and drugs for self-medication when life is hard.

“It also leads to debt and poverty and makes people vulnerable to crime and exploitation.”

She said it was the local authority’s ‘duty’ to protect people from the harmful effects of addiction.

“For every £1 spent on alcohol treatment it is estimated that the social return on investment is £3, increasing to £21 over 10 years,” she said. “For every £1 spent on drug treatment, there is an estimated return of £4, increasing to £26 over 10 years.

“Investing in drug and alcohol treatment is good value for money as well as the morally right thing to do.”

The executive agreed that Trafford would enter into the new collaborative agreement with the two other authorities for an initial three-year term, with an option to extend by a further two years.

It was also resolved that the contract would be awarded to Achieve Bolton, Salford and Trafford, with GMMH as the lead provider.