Health Minister Patrice Minors went on the offensive yesterday, defending Government plans to slash funding for a drug rehabilitation programme.

Earlier this week the Salvation Army's Major Lindsay Rowe made a public appeal, pleading with Government not to reduce funding for its Harbour Lights residential drug treatment programme by 50 percent.

But yesterday Mrs. Minors said the organisation was given ample warning of cash cuts. And she said some of Maj. Rowe's comments were misleading, lacking in perspective and inaccurate.

Mr. Rowe said Government had promised funding would be made up to compensate for the loss of funding when the Council Partners Charitable Trust closed down. Mrs. Minors said: "We do not see how Salvation Army could have ever had this expectation.

"In July 2003 the National Drug Commission Chairman initially informed all Treatment and Prevention Agency Directors during his scheduled monthly meeting with Directors (including the Salvation Army) to expect cuts in the level of assistance they received from the NDC for the 04/05 fiscal period.

"Additionally, they were advised to seek alternate funding streams to supplement their financial needs. In contradiction to Major Rowe's statement, this amounted to an eight-month warning prior to the beginning of fiscal 04/05."

She said the Chairman of the Board of the NDC met with board representatives of the treatment and prevention agencies on a monthly basis advising them of the same and that Major Eyre was in attendance for the Salvation Army.

The Minister added the NDC's Treatment Coordinator met monthly with the treatment programme directors and reiterated the pending cuts. The Salvation Army was represented by programme manager, Mrs. Raynor she said.

Mrs. Minors continued: "We acknowledge the NDC was not in a position to advise what the dollar value of the cuts would be because their grant level was yet to be approved and was not approved until March of 2004. "Notwithstanding, agencies were advised to expect possible material cuts in their funding. "Once final confirmation of NDC's grant was known, all treatment and prevention agencies were notified by the second week of April of the tentative amounts they would be allocated."

She said several agencies, FOCUS Counselling Service, and CADA in particular, took the advice given them in August 2003 and sought corporate sponsorship.

"The Salvation Army is most notably an agency that would appear to have taken no immediate action to help to financially sustain their programmes," she said.

"Notwithstanding the above, the NDC was prepared to look at their budget in the third quarter of this fiscal year to see if they had realised any savings to then forward to the Salvation Army. "This proposition was made to the Salvation Army and they have made no response.

"As Major Rowe has pointed out, the discontinuance of the Council Partners Charitable Trust (CPCT) $1 million in funding disappear from treatment and prevention agencies as a source of direct assistance. The shortfall has obviously fallen on the NDC to be the source of funding to which otherwise was a 50:50 shared responsibility."

Last year the Salvation Army received $560,000 for the Harbour Lights and Life Skills programmes. This year it was awarded $297,170.77, said the Minister. She said the NDC has a policy of funding agencies at up to 50 percent of their programmes operating costs, with the remainder of the funds being derived from private/corporate donors. The Salvation Army was being brought into line with that policy. "The NDC is currently revising its grant procedures to clarify that this is not a funding situation where treatment agencies lead the process because of their own special needs and demand funding accordingly."

Shadow Health minister Michael Dunkley said: "We have a real sad situation here." He said it did no good in the community to see the Minster and Ministry "at odds". Mr. Dunkley said: "The NDC needs to be looked at and reviewed because of its general ineffectiveness in fulfilling its mandate."

The reason, he said the NDC need to be looked at is because they can not file annual reports on time in the House of Assembly as required by law. He also said the NDC lost a major source of funding in the Council Partners Charitable Trust (CPCT). The CPCT, up until last year provided over one million annually, he said.

Mr. Dunkley believes the CPCT closed down because of an issue with the NDC.

"Our opinion is the NDC is the root of the problem," he said. "I am not comforted by the Minister attacking the Salvation Army.

"A good sign of leadership would have been to get face to face with our partners in dealing with social issues, instead of burning bridges and ruining relationships."

NDC chairman Reverend Andrew Doughty said it was up to Government to decide funding levels.

He said: "I would be very sad if Harbour Lights ceased to be. What we in the NDC cannot do is give money we don't have."