Chamber and committees

We are keeping track of what is happening in each area across Scotland. Where we are seeing challenges, organisations are coming forward with monthly reporting so that we can give advice, support and guidance on a monthly basis to push forward progress in tackling all those challenges. There are a number of areas where reporting has shifted from monthly to quarterly or from quarterly back to monthly, depending on where they are on the progress chart. In many areas, organisations have taken advantage of the opportunity to work with us on a monthly basis when reporting their progress on the standards, and I will continue with that work.

I am aware that Justina is sitting right behind me. [Interruption.] Sorry—apparently she has gone. I will catch up with her soon.

Justina Murray has been an absolutely superb advocate in this area. I will have to look at what she was saying, because I did not catch that bit of the committee’s meeting this morning.

I go back to a point that I made to Mr Findlay. We have to ensure that we have a number of pathways available for people so that they have a choice about the pathway that works for them. As I said, we get pulled in different directions. Some people think that a certain pathway is the best one, and other people think that another pathway is the best. Our responsibility is to create that choice for people so that they can understand the pathway that works for them. Two people who I met yesterday at Abbeycare, who are currently on an abstinence programme in a rehab facility, said, “We tried this and we tried that.” They had both tried the same two things, which had not worked for them, but the programme has worked. That is important in understanding where the challenges are coming from.

Our stakeholders are doing amazing work, and we need to take on board their ideas about what works best. From my point of view, the responsibility is to create the choice that allows people to have the pathway and the person-centred approach that will work for them.

I have been clear that the money from the Scottish Government for ADPs that goes into the system via local authorities is going to ADPs. I do not think that I could be clearer about that. We have challenges in the budget—everyone has challenges in the budget—and some of those are not of our making. However, I know that we have had a 67 per cent increase in the budget for ADPs.

The quarterly figures are incredibly important for us as they allow us to see emerging trends and issues. We will not have the full picture until we get the National Records of Scotland data in the summer. I need to give a caveat around the RADAR figures and the police figures—we will not know until the summer what has been in the system and what is contributing to the rise that we are seeing.

One thing that we are recognising right across the UK—I met minister Chris Philp just the other week—is the issue of what else is coming into the supply chain now. People are involved in poly drug use. The Home Office told us that, in maybe six to nine months, heroin will run out. It is now being supplemented by synthetic opioids and benzodiazepines, and people are shifting to injecting cocaine. It is a very complex environment, particularly with some of the data on poly drug use and contributing factors.

Public Health Scotland is looking at all that. When we have drug-checking facilities in place, we hope to get to a position in which we have live data that will allow us to respond more quickly so that, when an incident arises, we can get in there and pivot services to support people in the appropriate way to reduce harm and the number of drugs deaths.

Every single one of those people who dies is someone who is loved. It might be your neighbour, your friend or one of your family members. We should never forget that every single one of those deaths is someone who is grieved and loved. That is certainly the attitude that I take. My condolences go to anybody who has lost anybody whom they have loved.

This is a really serious and complex issue. We need to understand what is happening so that we can engage the services and reduce harm and, therefore, the number of deaths.

Obviously, from my perspective, with the RADAR results being quarterly, that is the way in which we are looking at that and trying to scale all of that up.

General toxicology is a hugely challenging issue as well. I do not know whether any of my officials has an update on that, but information on the general issue would come from the health minister. I would be happy to elicit that information and to get back to you on that.

Absolutely.

I welcome the work that is being done in England and Wales. Last Thursday night, I had the pleasure of being in Barlinnie—yes, they did let me back out. When I said to a colleague that I was going to Barlinnie, they said, “That must be grim,” but actually, it was not. Barlinnie has been running a recovery cafe and creative change programme for almost eight years now, and I heard from people who have taken part in that process. I heard not just that they have been dry and clean for many weeks and months, but about all the other changes that have allowed them to focus on their general health and wellbeing. Many of them go to the gym and are giving real attention to their general health and wellbeing and to their mental health and wellbeing.

I was really struck by the camaraderie of the groups of men, who were encouraging each other to take part, which is a real cultural change in that type of setting, although I am not saying that we have tackled all the issues. You may have seen some of the publicity over the past couple of days about Glenochil and the work that is being done there on recovery. The same is happening in Low Moss. Recovery work is going on in all those areas.

The SPS is currently working with us on what it thinks would work. When I was in Barlinnie on Thursday night, I was struck by the way that the prison officers work with the people involved. There is a real respect for each other’s roles and their journeys. We are working closely with the SPS on how it sees some of this being rolled out. In Glenochil, there is now a drug-free wing and work is being done to look at how that operates and how we can roll it out across all prisons.

Yes—everybody needs to be safe in their workplace. One thing about synthetics is that some of them are much more dangerous to people who work in the sector. We have to consider that when working through the support for the workforce. We need to ensure that people are safe at work and safe wherever they are.

Good morning, convener and colleagues. I am pleased to be in front of the committee today to discuss minimum unit pricing and the two draft orders that were laid on 19 February. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (Continuation) Order 2024 seeks to continue the effect of the minimum unit pricing provisions beyond the initial six-year period, while the Alcohol (Minimum Price per Unit) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2024 seeks to change the level from 50p per unit to 65p per unit.

Scotland is facing a growing burden of disease over the next 20 years. Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of death and ill health in Scotland, and alcohol is one of the key contributors in that respect.

Committee members will know that, in September 2023, the Scottish Government published its report on the effect of minimum unit pricing in its first five years of operation. That report drew heavily on the studies included in Public Health Scotland’s comprehensive evaluation of the policy, which was commended by internationally renowned public health experts, including Professor Sir Michael Marmot and Professor Sally Casswell. Public Health Scotland estimated that, over the study period, minimum unit pricing reduced alcohol-attributable deaths by 13.4 per cent—or 156 people a year—and was likely to have reduced hospital admissions that were wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1 per cent, compared with what would have happened had minimum unit pricing not been in place.

Alongside consideration of the impact of minimum unit pricing, the Scottish Government undertook a review of the price per unit. The decision to lay regulations increasing the price per unit to 65p is underpinned by modelling carried out by the University of Sheffield. Its research suggests that, to maintain the value of the price per unit and, therefore, to continue to achieve the public health benefits at a level estimated by Public Health Scotland in the evaluation, the minimum unit price should be increased to at least 60p.

However, it is clear that Scotland is continuing to experience significant levels of alcohol harm, and as a result, the Scottish Government is proposing to increase the price per unit to 65p in order to further increase our policy’s public health benefits. I expect—and the University of Sheffield’s modelling predicts—that implementing the increase will save additional lives.

I know that some people do not agree with minimum unit pricing, but we have considered their concerns in reaching our position. At round-table meetings that were held in 2023, many business stakeholders told us that implementing any price change quickly might be difficult. That was echoed by the regulatory review group, which recommended that a six-month implementation period would be necessary to allow business to prepare for a price increase. I am pleased to say that we have listened and, should Parliament agree to increase the minimum unit price, it will be implemented from 30 September 2024.

I am clear that minimum unit pricing is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s approach to tackling alcohol-related harm. However, it is not a silver bullet; no single intervention on issues as complex as alcohol harm would be. For a start, according to some findings in the Public Health Scotland evaluation, it was clear that some who were alcohol dependent had experienced additional challenges linked to the price of alcohol increasing. I know that specialist support and treatment are vital for those people, so, to that end, the Scottish Government has provided record funding of £112 million this year for Scotland’s alcohol and drug partnerships. That funding supports the critical delivery of services to those affected by alcohol dependency, including outreach, psychosocial counselling, in-patient and community alcohol detox, access to medication, alcohol brief interventions, alcohol hospital liaison and alcohol-related cognitive testing.

In addition, residential rehabilitation offers programmes that aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle. Public Health Scotland’s most recent interim report, which was published in December last year, showed that, of the 386 ADP-approved residential rehab placements, almost half—48 per cent—were for people with problematic alcohol use and 20 per cent were for people with both alcohol and drug issues. Moreover, in 2023-24, the Government provided £13 million in funding through the Corra Foundation in support of a range of projects helping those with substance addiction issues, including alcohol dependency, into treatment and recovery.

Minimum unit pricing is an important part of our approach to reducing alcohol harm and improving the health and wellbeing of our population. The decision to continue minimum unit pricing and to increase the price per unit to 65p will show that Scotland continues to be world leading in our policies to improve the health of people in Scotland. That position was recently supported by more than 80 third sector organisations, senior clinicians and leading public health academics from Scotland, the rest of the United Kingdom and further afield.

Convener, I look forward to discussing the issue further with you this morning, and I welcome questions from you and your colleagues.