Current status: Answered by Neil Gray on 15 April 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much of its alcohol and drugs services budget for (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25 was spent on local authority social work services; what proportion of the budget this represented, and what the estimate is for 2025-26.
The Scottish Government allocates specific National Mission funds via regional Health Boards, for onward disbursement by Integration Authorities, per local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships’ (ADP) strategic planning. Local Authority Social Work Services provide broad holistic service coverage and support to individuals with a wide range of needs, and it is a matter for local authorities to allocate, and account for the allocation of, Local Authority funds to those services. Any decision to supplement social work services’ funding with National Mission monies is for the judgement of ADPs and is not currently reported to the Scottish Government.