Chamber and committees

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The evaluation process of the Addiction Support Area at HMP Edinburgh has been initiated however is not yet complete. There is, as yet, no planned publication date for the evaluation.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

There are 38 spaces in the HMP Edinburgh Addiction Support Area. Each prisoner must be serving a minimum of 45 days. The criteria for access to this type of environment is primarily motivation to change, as well as a willingness to take part in voluntary random drug testing. Prisoners who are receiving a substitute prescription should not be excluded from an Addiction Support Area, provided they are stable and consistently free from illicit substances. Prisoners who have finished a detoxification prescription and are drug-free are also included in the criteria.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

There are 38 spaces in the HMP Edinburgh Addiction Support Area. Between January and September 2009, 80 prisoners had been admitted to the Addiction Support Area and 37 prisoners had been liberated. Of these liberations 16 were on a reducing prescription of methadone, 18 completely drug free and three who had reduced methadone and had switched to Suboxone (an opiate substitute which also blocks opiates). 6 of the liberated prisoners had re-offended and had been returned to custody, however they had continued to be either drug free or on the same prescription as when they had left the prison and did not present with drug related problems on re-admission to custody.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Assessments are made by the nursing addictions team and regular drug testing is part of the agreed criteria. Each prisoner is supported with an individual care plan and has community and through care links to ensure continued support after release. The regimes include regular one to one support and group work with the Enhanced Addiction Casework Service and Addiction Nurses, group work with both Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Lothian and Borders Abstinence Programme (LEAP) and various healthcare supported relaxation and self-awareness therapies. Prisoners have access peer support from C-Plus, an organisation providing knowledge and awareness on Hepatitis C, HIV and other blood borne viruses.

The 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use asked adults aged over 16 years (who reported trying drugs at some point in their lives) to remember at what age they first tried drugs and what type of drug they had first used. The survey found that cannabis was the most commonly reported drug first tried in all age groups and genders. Amongst the small number of females who indicated that they had tried drugs under the age of 16 years, the most commonly used drugs were cannabis (67.1% - Class B), glues/solvents (10.1%), poppers (7%) and ecstasy (5.5 Class A).

While it is difficult to draw any strong conclusions from the observation that Class A drugs are more likely to be the first drug taken by females under the age of 16 than any other age group, the Scottish Government has a set in place a comprehensive and wide reaching set of measures to protect all young people from the destructive harm of drug misuse. These measure are laid out in the response to S3W-31336, on 25 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

It is clear from the evidence that the destructive impact of drug misuse on individuals, families and communities is considerable. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that this should not be a legacy for our children and young people to inherit.  We want to ensure that all young people are able to make informed choices about their lives by ensuring that they have access to credible information and support, that is why we continue to:

invest in the Know the Score campaign which offers reliable and non judgemental advice about substance misuse via our helpline, website and awareness weekends;

provide core funding for a number of national youth work organisations that work with hard to reach and vulnerable young people; helping them to build up their self-esteem and confidence and to make a positive contribution to their communities;

invest over £13 million in the CashBack for Communities scheme which includes a range of partnerships with Scottish sporting, arts and youth work organisations to deliver a programme of diversionary activities, with over 100,000 young people benefiting so far;

support the Choices for Life initiative which engages young people (250,000 so far) in substance misuse education at an important transitional period in their lives (primary to secondary school), and

work within the context of the Curriculum for Excellence, placing a new emphasis on all staff to promote young people''s health and wellbeing outcomes; including a more holistic health and wellbeing agenda which incorporates substance misuse education.

The 2008-09 Scottish Crime and Justice Survey: Drug Use found that reported use of cocaine amongst adults aged 16 to 59 years in the year prior to survey remained stable in 2006 and 2008-09 (3.7% in both 2006 and 2008-09). That said even though the rate has remained stable it remains too high and the Scottish Government is not complacent about cocaine use in Scotland.

Educating Scots about the risk and harms of drug misuse in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them is key. Know the Score - our drug prevention campaign - has been both successful and innovative through it''s website, helpline and cocaine awareness weekends, in ensuring that people are aware of and understand the risks and dangers in taking these drugs, presenting it in a factual, non-glamorising and credible way.

On 22 January 2010, I launched the latest Know the Score campaign highlighting the dangers of Cocaine. This campaign raises awareness of the risks associated with cocaine such as increased heart rate, chest pains, paranoia and stroke. The campaign highlights these messages through cinema advertisement, spotify ads, outdoor media and online support to dispel the myth that cocaine is a safe party drug.

We also continue to support the Scottish Police Service in their efforts to disrupt drug dealing and organised crime groups by investing in policing and have set up the Serious Organised Crime (SOC) Taskforce. In June 2008 the SOC Taskforce published a national strategy Letting Our Communities Flourish. This new Strategy has been supported with a major boost of around £4 million over two years to the SCDEA budget, which will be used to recruit around 80 new specialist police officers and civilian staff.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-31330 on 23 February 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

With the introduction of the 2004 Inclusion Policy, and following a series of critical incidents before that time, SPS moved from a punitive response towards a more therapeutic approach to drug use in prisons. Following the publication of the Scottish Government''s Road to Recovery policy in 2009, SPS are in the process of implementing a more integrated approach to the treatment and care of drug-using prisoners based on an extensive international evidence base contained in the Orange Book (a Government publication entitled Drug Use and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management).

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Over the years prisoners have employed a variety of methods to introduce drugs into prison. Drugs can be brought in by prisoners'' visitors and passed in a visit room, sent concealed in mail or property intended for a prisoner, thrown over the wall, concealed about their bodies by prisoners at the time of their incarceration or brought in by individuals with business inside the prison.