Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on methadone prescriptions in total in each of the last four years, broken down by the cost in each NHS board area.
The total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture and solution (1mg/ml) to the NHS in the last four years, broken down by NHS Board, are presented in the following table. Cost data are complete for all NHS Boards, whereas fees are incomplete as some payment elements are handled locally.
Table 1: Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1 Items dispensed in Scotland, by NHS Board – 2021-22 to 2024-25
Financial Year | Dispensing NHS Health Board | Gross Ingredient Cost (£)2 | Methadone fees (£)3 | Supervision fees (£)3 |
2021-2022 | NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 304,693.38 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS BORDERS | 41,349.86 | 40,124.00 | 159,567.05 |
2021-2022 | NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 80,314.45 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS FIFE | 251,554.68 | 390,415.86 | 420,191.18 |
2021-2022 | NHS FORTH VALLEY | 147,969.88 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS GRAMPIAN | 381,538.65 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 1,255,396.78 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS HIGHLAND | 105,955.19 | 197,355.96 | 184,355.19 |
2021-2022 | NHS LANARKSHIRE | 289,756.86 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2021-2022 | NHS LOTHIAN | 704,497.25 | 1,397,547.80 | 792,352.44 |
2021-2022 | NHS ORKNEY | 1,084.65 | 1,210.25 | 595.50 |
2021-2022 | NHS SHETLAND | 11,195.44 | 18,367.60 | 28,239.75 |
2021-2022 | NHS TAYSIDE | 310,481.97 | 343,301.76 | 683,187.40 |
2021-2022 | NHS WESTERN ISLES | 25.39 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 291,795.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS BORDERS | 39,789.04 | 37,985.50 | 139,743.90 |
2022-2023 | NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 70,767.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS FIFE | 243,083.30 | 323,941.11 | 460,051.20 |
2022-2023 | NHS FORTH VALLEY | 129,429.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS GRAMPIAN | 369,590.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 1,197,752.81 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS HIGHLAND | 92,040.84 | 166,234.50 | 143,635.05 |
2022-2023 | NHS LANARKSHIRE | 278,789.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS LOTHIAN | 646,472.23 | 1,169,814.80 | 843,563.52 |
2022-2023 | NHS ORKNEY | 1,665.62 | 1,616.80 | 3,426.11 |
2022-2023 | NHS SHETLAND | 11,312.53 | 17,850.60 | 26,984.65 |
2022-2023 | NHS TAYSIDE | 299,996.81 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2022-2023 | NHS WESTERN ISLES | 5.07 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 335,338.57 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS BORDERS | 40,875.13 | 33,747.00 | 105,262.35 |
2023-2024 | NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 71,464.99 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS FIFE | 280,714.92 | 290,144.67 | 439,219.80 |
2023-2024 | NHS FORTH VALLEY | 131,621.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS GRAMPIAN | 423,089.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 1,313,087.61 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS HIGHLAND | 100,234.48 | 65,519.64 | 55,251.99 |
2023-2024 | NHS LANARKSHIRE | 308,163.04 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS LOTHIAN | 726,779.98 | 1,048,515.60 | 849,415.14 |
2023-2024 | NHS ORKNEY | 2,698.21 | 2,448.70 | 4,454.34 |
2023-2024 | NHS SHETLAND | 13,442.28 | 17,592.10 | 27,508.25 |
2023-2024 | NHS TAYSIDE | 338,191.82 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023-2024 | NHS WESTERN ISLES | 4.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS AYRSHIRE & ARRAN | 257,087.89 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS BORDERS | 29,526.74 | 29,081.50 | 71,850.25 |
2024-2025 | NHS DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY | 56,565.83 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS FIFE | 224,748.68 | 261,228.84 | 437,710.42 |
2024-2025 | NHS FORTH VALLEY | 94,568.56 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS GRAMPIAN | 335,528.19 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS GREATER GLASGOW & CLYDE | 1,046,733.51 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS HIGHLAND | 78,308.77 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS LANARKSHIRE | 240,929.05 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS LOTHIAN | 559,407.92 | 937,818.20 | 805,844.34 |
2024-2025 | NHS ORKNEY | 2,721.21 | 3,047.95 | 4,315.39 |
2024-2025 | NHS SHETLAND | 11,652.26 | 16,616.85 | 27,308.05 |
2024-2025 | NHS TAYSIDE | 262,708.84 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2024-2025 | NHS WESTERN ISLES | 6.36 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Table 1: Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1 Items dispensed in Scotland for all NHS Boards, by year – 2021-22 to 2024-25
Financial Year | Gross Ingredient Cost (£)2 | Methadone fees (£)3 | Supervision fees (£)3 | Total Cost |
2021-2022 | 3,885,814.43 | 2388323.23 | 2268488.5 | 8,542,626.17 |
2022-2023 | 3,672,491.26 | 1717443.31 | 1617404.4 | 7,007,339.00 |
2023-2024 | 4,085,705.64 | 1457967.71 | 1481111.9 | 7,024,785.22 |
2024-2025 | 3,200,493.81 | 1247793.34 | 1347028.5 | 5,795,315.60 |