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Chamber and committees

Question reference: S6W-32536

  • Asked by: Annie Wells, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
  • Date lodged: 19 December 2024
  • Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 10 January 2025

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is working to prevent young people from becoming involved in the illicit drug trade.


Answer

The criminal exploitation of young people through involvement in the illicit drug trade is a significant concern for the Scottish Government. Partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT), which I chair, continue to use every means at their disposal to disrupt serious organised crime, including illicit drugs, and to raise awareness of the impact it has on individuals, including young people, and our communities.

The Scottish Government published 'Practitioner Guidance on Criminal Exploitation' in June 2023 on behalf of the SOCT. The guidance aims to maximise Scotland’s coordinated and joined up response to all exploited individuals, making it easier for practitioners across Scotland to support children and vulnerable adults who have been victims of exploitation. The SOCT also held a criminal exploitation conference in June 2024 to publicise the guidance.

The latest SOCT Progress Report, published in December, details some of the work over the past year, including projects such as the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation’s very successful Drugs Education Pilot in Grampian schools and the “Fearless” drugs campaign which was launched with young people at a school in Edinburgh.

Serious Organised Crime Taskforce: progress report 2024 - gov.scot