Official Report 1017KB pdf
The next item of business is a statement by Maree Todd on drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2024 and the national mission to reduce deaths and improve the lives of people who are impacted by drugs. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, so there should be no interventions or interruptions.
14:58
Thank you for the opportunity to update the Parliament on this week’s publication of the 2024 figures on drug-related deaths in Scotland.
First and foremost, I express my deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the 1,017 people who tragically lost their lives to drugs in 2024. Although this week’s publication is released as accredited official statistics, those 1,017 people are not simply statistics—they are parents, children, partners, siblings, friends, colleagues, loved ones and neighbours. They are lives cut far too short by the devastating impact of drugs. To all those who are suffering and who have suffered loss, I want you to know that you matter and that I am determined to continually improve how we support you.
Although it is welcome that the statistics show a 13 per cent fall in the number of drug misuse deaths from 2023, to the lowest level registered since 2017, let me be clear that the figures are still far too high. Every drug death is a profound tragedy, every drug death is one too many and every drug death is preventable.
Some aspects of the information that was released this week give us particular cause for reflection. In Glasgow, it is welcome that the statistics show a 25 per cent fall in the number of drug deaths from 2023, and we recognise the work that is being done locally to put in place strong systems of care. However, the city continues to have one of the highest rates of drug deaths in the country, which is why we are supporting further life-saving improvements, such as funding the pilot of the United Kingdom’s first safer drug consumption facility, which opened in January. The Thistle has been recognised globally for its work and, since opening, has overseen more than 4,000 injecting episodes, while also being able to respond to a number of on-site overdose incidents. I have no doubt that lives have been saved.
The increased prevalence of new highly potent synthetic substances, such as nitazenes, not only in Scotland but throughout the UK, is of real concern. We are working with Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Drugs Forum and other partners to address the threat, including by communicating vital information and advice to those who need it. I encourage members in the chamber and anyone who might be affected to familiarise themselves with that advice. I also urge anyone who carries naloxone to consider carrying extra life-saving kits with them, because we know that, due to the high potency of nitazenes, repeat doses might be required.
Last week, I saw at first hand how naloxone is administered when I visited Springburn ambulance station to mark international overdose awareness day. I learned about the Scottish Ambulance Service’s successful take-home naloxone programme, which has issued more than 4,000 kits to people who are at risk and their families, who can use them to deal with any future overdose while they wait for the ambulance to arrive. The work that has been done by the Scottish Ambulance Service, the third sector, the police and other partners has been instrumental in saving lives.
This week’s figures highlight specific demographic challenges that we must address. The deprivation gap persists, with people in the most deprived areas being 12 times more likely to die from drugs than those in the least deprived areas. The figures remind us of the critical importance of tackling the root causes of poverty and inequality and of delivering the Government’s mission of eradicating child poverty.
We must continue to address the unique challenges that are faced by women who use drugs. With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that we are directing some of the additional funding in the drug and alcohol budget for that purpose. We are providing an additional £1.1 million to Aberlour Children’s Charity to expand its intensive perinatal support services and improve support and targeted recovery services for women and their babies. In Glasgow, we are delivering £750,000 through the Corra Foundation to support the development of a whole-system solution to address the barriers that women affected by substance use often face when they are accessing services.
For young people, we know that there is much more that we need to do, which is why, later this year, we will publish a set of treatment and support standards specifically for young people aged 25 and under. To support early intervention and prevention, we are allocating an additional £750,000 to continue to fund Winning Scotland’s planet youth model of primary prevention. Primary prevention activity such as that can stop harm before it takes root, meaning fewer people losing their homes, being caught up in the justice system or having negative health outcomes. That is why our population health framework with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities focuses on primary prevention. Reducing the harm that is caused by drugs is critical for our whole-system aim of increasing—and reducing the gap in—life expectancy.
Since taking on this ministerial role in June, I have had the opportunity to visit a number of projects and services that are funded by the Scottish Government. Earlier this week, I visited the Scheme Livi, which is an innovative project that offers creative workshops as an alternative source of support for people who are impacted by drug use. That is one of more than 300 local and grass-roots projects that have been supported by Scottish Government funding that is administered by the Corra Foundation since the start of our national mission. Work such as that in the third sector is essential in tackling the drug deaths crisis, because it is a crisis that no single organisation can solve alone.
I do not shy away from this challenge. This week’s publication offers a stark reminder that 1,017 people lost their lives to drugs, and that demands that we all collectively step up our efforts. Since launching our national mission in 2021, we have taken a range of actions, but I am determined that we do more. We have made £38 million available between eight projects across Scotland to provide additional residential rehabilitation beds. The latest published figures report a rise in capacity of 88 beds, and we have expanded capacity even further since those figures were released.
We have invested more than £4 million in widening access to life-saving naloxone. Thanks to our support, the latest figures indicate that more than 80 per cent of people at risk of opioid overdose have been supplied with a kit.
Work continues on implementation of the medication assisted treatment standards. In June, Public Health Scotland’s benchmarking report showed that, across all alcohol and drug partnership areas, 91 per cent of MAT standards 1 to 5 and 75 per cent of MAT standards 6 to 10 were assessed as fully implemented. The report highlights the innovation and hard work that is being undertaken by services and people in driving change, and I take a brief moment to thank all the services and organisations in communities across Scotland that are working to save lives and providing the challenge that the Government needs to drive action forward.
I also thank those with lived and living experience and their families who work with us and so generously share their perspectives and experiences with us so that we get the support that we provide right for people who are impacted by drug use.
As I have outlined, our national mission on drugs has delivered a number of positive developments, but this week’s figures remind us that there is much more to do. To support the continued delivery of the national mission, we are providing record funding of more than £160 million for alcohol and drugs work in 2025-26. We will also accelerate the delivery of new initiatives such as the drug checking pilot project, and I will welcome ministerial counterparts from the UK and devolved Administrations to Edinburgh next week to discuss that and many other important issues. I will make it clear to the UK Government that it is imperative that it moves at pace as we seek to deliver drug checking.
As the first phase of our national mission draws to a close in 2026, our commitment to reducing deaths and improving lives will remain. Our work with partners on a plan for the next phase covering both alcohol and drugs is progressing well, and we intend to publish it at the beginning of next year. The plan will embed a more intense focus on person-centred support to aid recovery. It is our intention that funding is maintained to support the delivery of the plan, and final budget allocations will be subject to the Parliament’s agreement as part of the 2026-27 budget process later this year.
I opened my statement with thoughts for all those impacted by drugs and with condolences to the loved ones of the 1,017 people who lost their lives to drugs in 2024. Although there is nothing that we can do to bring back those whose lives have been so tragically cut short or to ease the unimaginable grief that their loved ones must feel, we will continue to do all that we can to end the devastating impacts of drugs in Scotland. Let us work together, share ideas, confront challenges and go forward with an unwavering commitment to stop deaths, reduce harm and improve lives.
The minister will now take questions on the issues that were raised in her statement. I intend to allow about 20 minutes for questions, after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. I encourage members who wish to ask a question but have not already pressed their request-to-speak buttons to do so.
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. It is a tragedy that Scotland remains the drug death capital of Europe. Although the minister will speak about the fall in the number of drug deaths, experts predict that they will rise again this year and will hit the most deprived communities the hardest. We need to remember that there are still 1,017 empty seats at dinner tables, that 1,017 birthday parties have been missed, and that the lives of 1,017 mums, dads, brothers and sisters have been lost.
In Glasgow, the Thistle was held up as the flagship pilot—a model that would supposedly transform lives. However, in the time that it has been open, families in the Calton area have seen nothing but discarded needles and overgrown spaces. I have visited the area many times and have seen that the £5,000 that was spent on two needle bins has achieved nothing.
Meanwhile, people and families are still crying out for access to real recovery services. According to the most recent data that I received in response to a freedom of information request made to the Thistle, not one person has been put on to a recovery pathway. If the minister has updated information on that, I would like her to tell me how many people have been put on to such a pathway—not one for help with housing or finance, but an actual recovery treatment pathway.
Given the lack of data gathered from the Thistle, the facility cannot be considered a success and the pilot certainly cannot be rolled out in Edinburgh. If the Government is serious about reducing deaths, it must back the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill, which would guarantee access to residential rehab and life-saving treatment. In light of that, can the minister explain why the Government continues down the path of failed schemes such as the Thistle, instead of delivering real recovery services that people across Scotland desperately need?
I recognise the fears and concerns that Ms Wells raises from people who live around the Thistle, but I assure her that the facility is saving lives. There have been more than 4,000 injection episodes in the Thistle since it opened its doors, which means that 4,000 fewer needles, syringes, spoons and other paraphernalia have been on the streets in the area around it. Since it opened its doors in January, 56 medical emergencies have happened at the facility. Those 56 people might well have died had they been injecting elsewhere.
The Thistle pilot is funded as an additional resource. It does not reduce or replace investment in abstinence-based rehabilitation or community recovery pathways. [Interruption.] The primary focus is harm reduction—keeping people alive through a compassionate, health-led, non-judgmental approach that is centred on dignity and safety. [Interruption.] It is part of a balanced response.
On the Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill, the Government is looking carefully at the evidence that has been given during the parliamentary process. We are also talking to and hearing from stakeholders, including those with lived and living experience. Ms Wells will be aware that concerns have been voiced about the bill’s approach. At the Scottish Drugs Forum conference last week, the member who is leading on the bill acknowledged that there are concerns about its proposals.
However, we are all agreed on the need to respect rights. Although there might be concern about whether the bill would deliver the stated outcomes, we all support those outcomes. I look forward to reading the parliamentary report.
We will listen respectfully not just to the questions but to the responses. We will also have slightly briefer questions and responses.
I associate myself with the minister’s remarks and send my condolences to every one of the thousands of families who have been affected.
Earlier this week, the minister referred to the progress that has been made in light of the latest drug deaths figures. In truth, such progress has been far too slow. Last year, 1,017 people lost their lives to drugs, and more than 6,000 have done so since the Scottish Government declared a public health emergency six years ago.
The level of funding for alcohol and drug partnerships amounts to a real-terms cut, the impact of which is that local projects, in turn, are being cut, including in West Dunbartonshire.
However, a new danger is happening right now—the rise of synthetic opioids in our communities. They do not respond to typical doses of naloxone, and the number of deaths is increasing. We need only look at the scale of the problem in America to see what is coming here.
In that context, does the minister accept that the Scottish National Party policy on decriminalising drugs is completely wrong-headed at this point, and that time would be better spent on providing routes out of addiction and improved access to rehabilitation services?
I certainly recognise the increased risk of harm and death from nitazenes. We have seen increased clusters of drug harms in 2025, including fatal and near-fatal drug overdoses. That is a cause for concern for each and every one of us.
In response to the growing threat from highly dangerous synthetic substances such as nitazenes, which we know are present in the drug supply in Scotland—what people think they are buying is not necessarily what they are getting—and which have been responsible for some of the recent increases in the number of overdoses, we are ensuring that information on emerging trends is shared with all local areas. We also have a public health alert system, known as the rapid action drug alerts and response—or RADAR—system, which is second to none in quality.
On reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, I am afraid to say that we have seen no discernible change in approach between the current Labour UK Government and the previous Tory UK Government. It would be really good if the member could join me in pushing for sensible reform of the 1971 act. We are all aware of the barriers that it presents to a rights-based public health approach to drug deaths.
I would also appreciate Scottish Labour’s support in pushing for pace in relation to drug-checking facilities, particularly in Glasgow, but also in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. The member is well aware that powers to achieve solutions to many of the challenges that we face sit with Westminster.
Understandably, a large number of members want to ask questions. I hope to get every one of them in, but that will require members to keep their questions relatively brief and the responses to be similarly brief, as far as possible.
My heart is sore for the families and communities who have lost loved ones to entirely preventable drug deaths. It is imperative that we remain focused, given the rise in the number of suspected drug deaths in this current year, in part due to the increasingly toxic supply.
One of the most powerful yet underused tools that we have is advocacy, which is an essential part of the MAT standards. It takes a human rights-based approach that gives people a voice, support and a fighting chance. People knowing their rights and exercising them will be absolutely key to the success of that mission. Organisations such as Reach Advocacy Scotland have been leading the way in delivering high-quality advocacy training in that field. People need to know their rights, and they need to be supported to claim them. Does the minister agree that advocacy must remain non-negotiable as part of Scotland’s drug policy? Will she update us on the support that the Government has given?
The member is absolutely correct. The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that independent advocacy plays in ensuring that people are supported to access housing, welfare and income. That is why MAT standard 8 sets out a clear expectation that everyone should have access to independent advocacy.
The Public Health Scotland benchmarking report, which was published in June 2025, showed that MAT standard 8 was fully implemented in 90 per cent of ADP areas and partially implemented in the remaining 10 per cent. It is essential that people are made aware of their rights and the support that is available to them. Local ADPs are empowered to commission advocacy services and training that reflect the needs of their communities.
Through the national drugs mission, we are investing in advocacy to uphold human rights and improve outcomes. On top of the funds that are allocated to ADPs, funding is being made available for that specific purpose. For example, the Corra Foundation awarded Reach Advocacy Scotland £480,000 to deliver a human rights-based approach and advocacy training until March 2027.
Via the Corra Foundation, we are investing £65 million over five years. That funding has supported 141 projects that aim to ensure that people can receive high-quality treatment and recovery services and supported 58 projects that have a focus on equalities and human rights. We continue to engage with third sector partners.
We will need greater brevity than we have had so far.
I was speaking to representatives of third sector organisations in East Ayrshire, who stated that the way in which drug death statistics are compiled means that the actual figures will be much worse. Those organisations are the ones that are most likely to interact with the most vulnerable people long before statutory services do. They continually tell me that they are being starved of resources and that too many people are falling through the cracks.
What research has the Scottish Government undertaken to establish what impact the £7 million investment in the Thistle centre would have had if that money had been invested in the third sector, instead of asking those organisations to operate on ever-decreasing budgets?
I emphasise again that there is not a binary choice between the Thistle safer drug consumption facility, which is definitely saving lives and has already saved lives, and alternative treatment approaches. We need to invest in all the approaches—the multiplicity of approaches. The drug death challenge and the crisis that we are in are complex. We need a multitude of answers and responses to them, and the Thistle is merely one of those. As I said in my answer to Mr Whittle’s colleague Annie Wells, the Thistle facility is funded as an additional resource. That ensures that it does not reduce or replace investment in any other local community recovery pathways.
I remind members that I am the chair of Moving On Inverclyde, a local recovery service.
The 13 per cent reduction in drug misuse deaths across Scotland is welcome, but I am deeply concerned that Inverclyde once again has one of the highest drug misuse death rates in the country. I welcome the fact that the minister will attend my recovery round-table meeting later in the month. In advance of that meeting, will the minister advise members how the Scottish Government is working with grass-roots organisations and local partnerships, such as Inverclyde alcohol and drug partnership?
I share the member’s concern about the persistently high rate of drug misuse deaths in Inverclyde. I welcome the opportunity to attend the upcoming recovery round table to hear directly from local agencies, stakeholders and people with lived and living experience.
Local accountability and strong partnerships are absolutely key to driving meaningful change and ensuring that services meet the needs of the community. It is vital that we listen to those who are working on the ground and learn from the excellent work that is being done to support recovery and reduce harm.
The Scottish Government continues to work closely with all alcohol and drug partnerships, including Inverclyde ADP, to maintain a direct, open and on-going dialogue to strengthen local delivery. We are also renewing the partnership delivery framework, in collaboration with COSLA and ADPs, to ensure that governance and planning structures are robust, consistent and responsive to local needs. Inverclyde ADP’s experience and leadership will be vital in shaping that work.
I place on record my condolences to the family and friends of Peter Krykant, who passed away in June. He was a pioneer in starting the first overdose prevention pilot in this country. [Applause.]
I am deeply concerned that, although the minister acknowledges the increased prevalence of new highly potent synthetic substances such as nitazenes, the only action that is proposed in her statement is further discussion between the Scottish Government partners around communications and advice on measures such as take-home naloxone. The drug deaths statistics released on Tuesday noted that the number of deaths from synthetic opioids had tripled, and the chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum, Kirsten Horsburgh, has warned that the worst is yet to come. This is an alarming situation that needs urgent and comprehensive action now. Will the minister set out more precisely what she will do to counter the emerging crisis of synthetic opioids in the drug supply chain?
I thank the member for offering his condolences to Peter Krykant’s friends and family. He was an absolute powerhouse in this area. I am sorry that I never met him, and I was very sad to hear of his death earlier this year.
On the question of nitazenes, the member is correct that they present a substantial threat. Scotland is not the only country that faces that threat—those potent synthetic opioids are a threat the world over.
One of the challenges in Scotland, as in many countries, is that drugs are illegal, so there is an unregulated market. As I have said, the majority of people who buy drugs in Scotland today do not know what they are getting, and the majority are getting something other than they think they are getting when they buy drugs. That poses an immense challenge, and we are taking a range of responses to it. As I mentioned, we have invested in Public Health Scotland’s RADAR alert system, which is really fast at getting information to the front line about the particular challenges and what might be useful in an emergency situation for people to be aware of.
RADAR works closely with facilities such as the Thistle—the supervised drug consumption unit. Back in March, there was a cluster of near-fatal overdoses in the Thistle, and it was very quickly able to disseminate the information learned from those near-misses right across the country. Unfortunately, the same batch of drugs resulted in deaths when used in other parts of the country.
There is other work that we are doing—we should remember the world-leading naloxone programme. We have front-line—
Briefly, please.
—emergency responders who carry naloxone left, right and centre. The drug-checking and drug-testing facilities are a crucial part of our response to the particular threat that the member has raised, particularly to ensure that we give personalised harm reduction advice to individuals who are using drugs—
Thank you, minister.
—including recreational users, too.
Thank you, minister. I am going to need greater brevity. I call Audrey Nicoll, to be followed by Maggie Chapman.
In light of the latest drug deaths figures, and reflecting the clear message from the Scottish Drugs Forum’s stop the deaths conference that people with living experience must be central to solutions, can the minister set out how their voices will be prioritised in leading and shaping policy and practice, not only as consultees but as partners in building the strengthening movement that is needed to end preventable deaths?
I absolutely welcome the clear message from the SDF living experience groups. It is clear that the efforts of the SDF and others to empower people with living experience are having an impact, and our commitment to put lived and living experience at the heart of everything that we do has been an integral part of the national mission. For example, their voices—not least that of Peter Krykant—drove the design and delivery of the Thistle safer drug consumption facility, the work of the national collaborative and the development of the charter of rights, and the development and on-going monitoring of the medication assisted treatment standards.
We also continue to fund a variety of grass-roots organisations through £13 million administered by the Corra Foundation. It supports a wide range of activity, much of which is focused on peer support. The meaningful participation of people with lived and living experience has been, and will continue to be, fundamental to the design and shape of our strategy as we move beyond 2026.
I associate myself with comments that have already been made. Every drug death is a preventable tragedy, and I extend my sympathies to everyone affected by such a death.
It is right that prevention is a priority, with poverty, inequality, deprivation, trauma and alienation being tackled, but there is an urgent need to expand life-saving services such as the Thistle that support people with addictions and help them towards recovery. Can the minister provide timelines for the expansion of safe consumption rooms? Will she join me in calling for the next such service to be located in Dundee?
I recognise the member’s interest in the issue. The development and delivery of safer drug consumption facilities must be done by local communities and local integration authorities, in conjunction with the communities and to the guidelines that the Lord Advocate has set. Thus far, I am not aware of a proposal coming from Dundee, but given its statistics, I am very open to hearing from it.
I know that Edinburgh is developing proposals for such a facility; it has been looking at a couple of locations close to where there have been a high number of drug deaths in the past few years, and it seems that it might have found the right locations. However, it has work to do with the communities who live in those areas, and it has work to do to meet the Lord Advocate’s guidelines. I am certainly open to interest from other parts of the country, particularly from those with such high death rates as Dundee.
I associate myself with Paul Sweeney’s remarks on the sad passing of Peter Krykant, who was a friend to many in the chamber.
We are talking about 85 people a month who are dying in Scotland’s drug death emergencies—the figures are the worst in Europe. It is why Liberal Democrats put the issue at the heart of our budget negotiations last year, with extra money now going to services such as recovery services for women and their babies.
I was glad to hear the minister talk about work towards long-overdue drug-checking pilots. In speaking with Home Office ministers, will she also consider rolling the pilots out to festivals and concerts? We know that, as has happened in my constituency, they have been blighted by this tragedy, too.
I thank the member for his interest in this area, and I am grateful to the Liberal Democrats for working with us to deliver the investment in Aberlour and in Glasgow, and for supporting our budget, which delivers real change on the ground.
On the issue of making drug-checking facilities available at festivals, there is a specific barrier to that being done, as the UK Home Office is wedded to the idea of those services being available only to people who are dependent on drugs. I seek support from across the chamber to shift the view on that issue.
I am really concerned about the threat to people who call themselves recreational drug users, who are buying drugs on an illegal market that may not be what they think they are and which could well contain synthetic opioids. If an opioid-naive person takes those, that is catastrophic.
We are now beyond our 20 minutes, and there are still eight members who want to ask a question. I will get them all in, as we have a bit of time over the course of the afternoon. However, the questions—and, in particular, the responses—will need to be more brief.
I welcome the minister’s continued commitment to delivering initiatives that save lives, such as the Thistle centre in Glasgow, the delivery of naloxone kits and the new drug-checking facilities. I note that the minister will meet the UK Government and representatives of other devolved nations to discuss drug-checking facilities. Will she provide an update on how that is progressing and what further action we need to see from the UK Government to instil some pace?
The drug-checking facilities that we have proposed in all our pilot cities will mean that we can get substances tested while people receive personalised harm reduction advice as well as the results. That will enable services to respond faster to emerging drug trends, which is essential given the threat that we face from synthetic opioids.
My understanding is that the Glasgow site is ready to receive approval of its licence application, and I will raise that with the UK Government next week when the UK and devolved Administrations meet in Edinburgh.
We are also working to develop sites in Aberdeen and Dundee and the proposed national testing and research laboratory at the University of Dundee. We have agreed funding for a fourth pilot site in Edinburgh, and we are working with local partners to support them to prepare their own licence application. As I have said, we think that those facilities should be available to everyone who needs them, rather than being restricted to people who are dependent on drugs. That is vital.
I make a declaration of interests, as I am a practising GP.
The Thistle opened in January 2025 at a cost of £2.3 million annually. In this first quarter, there has been an estimated 33 per cent increase in suspected drug deaths, and, between March and May, there has been a 19 per cent increase in drug-related accident and emergency visits. However, there has been no evaluation or feedback from residents. How can the minister look to open more consumption rooms in Edinburgh, with zero evidence showing that the Thistle has been a success?
As he is a GP, the member will be absolutely aware of the challenges that are being faced here and across the UK and the globe from synthetic opioids, which are a new and dangerous threat to life that we need to take cognisance of, rise to and respond to.
The Thistle pilot will take some time to evaluate, but I can tell the member that, for the 56 people who have been treated for medical emergencies in that facility since it opened its doors, the support that has been provided by the Thistle has undoubtedly been vital, and, for some of them, it has been life saving. We know that, when other people used drugs just like those that were used in the Thistle, they died.
As the minister has said, every drug death is a tragedy, although I note the decrease in drug deaths last year, which is to be welcomed.
Although substance abuse is sometimes characterised as an urban issue, drugs clearly affect rural communities acutely as well. Indeed, I must commend the work of the police in their operation last week in Barra, where £10,000-worth of cocaine was seized. Can the minister outline how the Scottish Government is continuing to support agencies across rural and island areas to continue to make progress in that area?
First, I agree that the recent seizure of cocaine in Barra is well worth highlighting, and I thank the member for raising it in the chamber.
The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to supporting health services and third sector organisations in rural and island communities. We recognise the unique challenges that are faced by those communities, including geographic isolation, workforce pressures and access to services. That is why we are continuing to invest in flexible, community-led solutions that reflect local needs and circumstances. As an example, the Scottish Government provided £2.4 million to support the development of the CrossReach Nevis house in Inverness as part of our aim to increase residential rehab capacity. Nevis house will provide six beds, equating to 22 placements a year, with a specific aim to support referrals from the most remote parts of the Highlands, alongside the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland, where it has traditionally been more challenging to access residential rehab. Ultimately, our aim is that people in rural and island areas can access the same high-quality support as those in urban centres.
The Parliament, the whole of Scotland and the people of Dundee remain deeply concerned about the glacial pace of progress. I take the minister back to the issue of synthetic opioids. Researchers from the University of Dundee and the Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science have raised serious concerns about the efficacy of nitazene-testing strips. The minister has already stated how crucial that is to the early warning systems. Has she engaged with the research that the Leverhulme Centre for Forensic Science has published, and what is her response to it?
I absolutely agree with Michael Marra that there are profound concerns about the efficacy of drug-testing strips. We are talking about having a national drug-testing laboratory based at the University of Dundee, which would underpin the local drug-checking facilities that are available through pilot sites in Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Michael Marra has merged two different issues. I am more than happy to pick up those issues with him, and I am always happy to engage in research in that area—as I am a pharmacist, it counts as continuous professional development for me.
As the local MSP covering the drug consumption rooms, I very much welcome the existence of the Thistle in Glasgow. Will the minister confirm that the centre is there because there was already a drugs problem and there was paraphernalia in my constituents’ closes? That is why it is the right location for it. Will she commit to the full three-year pilot? It is far too early to make judgments other than that lives have already been saved.
John Mason is absolutely correct to identify that, and exactly the same process has been taken with the proposal that may be brought forward by the Edinburgh integrated joint board. It has looked at where the challenges, paraphernalia, drug-related chaos, violence, overdoses and deaths are, and that is where it is choosing to site the facilities. The facilities are a critical first point of engagement for the people who are most at risk of drug-related death and overdose, many of whom are disconnected from wider health and support systems. They are a vital tool in the box against the drug death challenge that we are facing in Scotland.
Millions of pounds have now been invested in drug services, but it unfortunately does not seem that that is in fact tackling the problem that is devastating so many lives and communities across Scotland. I would like to hear more from the minister about what she will do differently that could increase that rate of progress that we are all desperately looking for. I believe that we need to measure success by the lives that have been recovered. Will the minister back the right to recovery so that people can escape the disease of addiction?
Ash Regan will be aware that there are a number of strands of work that we have put forward since we declared the national mission in 2020. I believe that we are on the right track. I do not think that we need to find something new to do; we need to do more of what we are doing more consistently and in every part of Scotland.
Since then, as well as the Thistle, we have widened access to treatment and improved the quality of treatment by enhancing MAT standards. We have developed the naloxone programme and the Thistle facility. We have done a power of work in looking at supporting people into recovery, expanding the capacity of residential rehab and expanding the number of funded places. We need to do more of that more consistently in every part of Scotland, but we also need to think about primary prevention, which we are doing, and about cohesive services that wrap around individuals so there is that person-centred experience and those individuals do not fall through the net.
That concludes this item of business. There will be a brief pause before the next item of business to allow front-bench teams to change.
Previous
Portfolio Question Time