Chamber and committees

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I do not know whether my vote went through. The screen disappeared. I would have voted yes.

To ask the Scottish Government what community safety measures it plans to prevent antisocial behaviour, including improper needle disposal, in the area surrounding the Thistle drug consumption facility. (S6O-04451)

Approximately two weeks ago, discarded needles and burnt spoons were discovered in a car park across from the Thistle drug consumption facility. Local community representatives have raised serious concerns about the facility’s impact and, in particular, about the risk of children coming into contact with discarded syringes. The finding of that material contradicts official statements, which have downplayed the issue of drug-related litter.

Will the minister clarify how the Government intends to address those reports and outline its plan to maintain a safe environment for residents and visitors? I have seen the situation at first hand, and it is not getting any better in the places that I have visited.

I appreciate everything that is being done, but we need to move faster. You have referred to figures for 2022-23, but we are not seeing the evidence of people moving through the system. I would like your reassurance that we are monitoring the situation and looking at how many individuals we are supporting and helping through the process.

Across nearly a decade in the Parliament representing Scotland’s largest city, I have spoken to many people with a harmful relationship with drugs, and to their families, and almost every time, the message is the same—they just want to stop. They want to end their harmful relationship with drugs, rebuild their lives, contribute positively to society and have a meaningful life once again.

Those people want that more than anything, but much of Scottish Government policy seems to go against that ambition. Everything is geared to making it easier to take drugs, lessen the consequences for those who do and strip away resources from the people who are there to help them, which means fewer opportunities for rehabilitation. That is eating away at the justice system, not least Police Scotland, which is tasked with keeping drugs off our streets and out of our communities.

It is therefore little wonder that the people’s panel on reducing drug harm and deaths was so critical of the Scottish Government and its record on the topic. The panel, which was representative of Scottish society and featured participants of varying ages and backgrounds, was shocked at the Scottish National Party’s lack of urgency in dealing with the drug deaths crisis. It said that the SNP Government, which, let us not forget, has been in charge for the best part of 18 years, has not acted despite being well aware of the evidence.

The most powerful evidence of all is the figure of 1,172 drug deaths—all of those people a loved one—in Scotland in 2023, which reaffirmed our shameful position at the top of the international league table of drug deaths. Scotland has sat at the top of that table since 2018. Since the SNP came to power in 2007, the annual drug deaths total has increased by 158 per cent, and it seems that nothing is getting better. The panel stated:

“the same conversations keep happening, with the same actions being agreed but not enough has been implemented.”

It also stated:

“There is no stability for service providers and users and no consistency of approach.”

The panel was severely critical of the Scottish Government for failing to keep up with the speed with which drug trends are evolving and changing. One theme running through the panel’s report is that people who have a harmful relationship with drugs should be listened to, that they should help to guide future policy and that they should be involved in new projects and support schemes. I gather that the Scottish Government agrees that that is a worthy objective.

The panel made it clear that those people should be involved in designing new projects and support systems, yet I am approached by former drug users all the time who all tell me that more needs to be invested in drug rehabilitation. There is too much pressure on people to remain on methadone instead of being supported towards true recovery, and far too little effort is being put into tackling root causes in the environments where drugs take hold, including areas such as Springburn, where I come from, and the streets in poverty-stricken communities across Scotland. People do not just need treatment; they need opportunities, hope and a real way out.

The families that I speak to who have lost loved ones to drugs or who are supporting loved ones through drug dependency want support to allow them to help the people who mean so much to them. Families and communities across Scotland feel let down by the Government and feel that they are not being listened to. Will the Scottish Government start listening to those people, their families and the communities that they come from?

The scourge of drug use throughout our society runs deep. Understandably, we focus much of our attention on drug deaths and those who are in the most desperate of circumstances socially, financially and emotionally. However, in a report in The Scottish Sun this week, we learned that drugs are infiltrating other areas, too. Last year, the police found that more than 3,000 drivers had drugs in their system. The most astonishing part of that was that the police tested only 6,000 people. More than half of those who were suspected of drug driving were committing that selfish and dangerous crime. They need help and support, too.

For context, the positive rate of those who were breathalysed for drink driving was closer to one in 20, and drug driving eclipses drink driving by three to one in Scotland. Given how high profile and correctly reviled drink driving is, that shows the extent to which Scotland’s drug problems run right through society. I was pleased that, during First Minister’s question time today, the First Minister committed to look at how we can ensure that we focus more on drug driving, as we did with drink driving many years ago.

One action that the Scottish Government could take right now is to back the Scottish Conservatives’ Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill. The bill would achieve a number of things but, crucially, it would enshrine in law an individual’s right to access the treatment and care that they need. It would immediately put a vulnerable individual whose life has been wrecked by drugs on to a positive path. It would allow them to hope—possibly for the first time—that they can have a future without drugs. In contrast, the Scottish Government’s policies are designed to take away hope and to regard those individuals as people who are, and always will be, caught in the scourge of addiction.

The panel was clear in its verdict: the Scottish Government simply has not done enough. It seems that SNP ministers will not listen to Opposition politicians; they will not listen to the very best campaigners in the field; and they will not listen to vulnerable users. That being the case, I urge the Government at least to listen to the damning verdicts of the people’s panel report.

We are beginning to see what happens when the Scottish Government sets ambitious targets for the climate without any concrete plan for how to achieve those goals.

Last year, the Scottish Government ditched its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, and, in January, Audit Scotland said that the Scottish Government is unlikely to meet its 2030 target to reduce car use by 20 per cent, due to a lack of leadership. It has now been reported that environmental consultancy Ricardo-AEA has told the Scottish Government that its 2045 net zero target is at risk of being missed. Can the minister assure the Parliament that the Government’s failure to keep the 2045 target on track will not lead to higher net zero costs being imposed on Scottish households?

To ask the Scottish Government what recent assessment it has made of the feasibility of its target to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. (S6O-04403)

To ask the First Minister what plans the Scottish Government has to tackle the reported rising number of cases of drug driving. (S6F-03870)

Earlier this week, The Scottish Sun reported that drug driving in Scotland now eclipses drink driving by around three to one. It is even more incredible that when the police pull over someone suspected of drug driving, subsequent testing proves their suspicions correct on more than 50 per cent of occasions. In contrast, for drink driving, such tests are positive in only around one in 20 cases.

Over the years, drink driving initiatives have been hailed for their positive impact and their role in making drink driving far less socially accepted than it was in past generations, saving lives in the process. Does the First Minister have plans to do something similar with drug driving?

The Scottish Government set the 62-day standard to ensure that 95 per cent of patients who are urgently referred with suspected cancer would begin their treatment within 62 days. However, according to Public Health Scotland, as of December 2024, only 72.1 per cent of cancer patients, including those with suspected cervical cancer, started treatment within that timeframe. Can the minister outline the urgent measures that are being taken to ensure that 95 per cent of patients with suspected cervical cancer can begin life-saving treatment within the 62-day target?