Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government committed an additional £250 million in the term of this parliament to deliver the national mission on drugs. We also committed in January 2023 to delivering a cross government plan that addresses the systemic stigma that keeps people from seeking support as well as a number of initiatives designed to make it easier for people who use drugs to access all the services they might need to improve their lives.

Following a successful pilot, COPFS commenced the Custody Deaths Unit (CDU) on 1 August 2022.

The Unit investigates all deaths in legal custody, including deaths in police custody.

The establishment of a dedicated unit will ensure further improvements in the quality and effectiveness of such investigations, prosecutions and FAIs and consistency of process throughout the country.

The Medicines Act 1986 is governed by the UK Parliament. This means that any legislative changes in relation to the act are fully reserved to the UK Government and its ministers.

However, continuing the work done to make naloxone more widely available during the COVID-19 pandemic, Scottish Government officials are engaged with both COPFS and colleagues in the UK Office for Health Improvement and Disparities to ensure that those changes remain in place in Scotland. Following the 2021 consultation carried out by the UK Government into expanding the access to naloxone, Scottish Government officials are working with UK Government colleagues to push for amendments in current legislation at a UK level to ensure those changes introduced in Scotland are made permanent.

The proposal currently with COPFS officials was developed by Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) not the Scottish Government

Police Scotland have been involved in discussions about the establishment of a safer drug consumption facilities (SDCF) for a number of years, since Glasgow HSCP first proposed establishing one.

The Lord Advocate, in a statement to the Justice Committee in November 2021, was clear that any new proposal for an SDCF would, before it could be brought to the Lord Advocate, need to be, amongst other things, supported by those who would be responsible for policing such a facility, and by Police Scotland Official Report (parliament.scot) .

The initial proposal that was submitted to COPFS officials in June 2022 included a paper from Police Scotland. Scottish Government officials understand that COPFS and Police Scotland officials have had further discussions since then.

Public Health Scotland were not involved in discussions around the current proposal for an SDCF.

Further to the recommendation of the Drug Death Taskforce we are continuing to work with the UK Government and other devolved administrations regarding the expansion of access to drug paraphernalia.

This includes the provision of smoking inhalation devices which have been seen as an essential harm reduction tool for those smoking crack cocaine. The distribution of these devices would require an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. As this legislation is reserved, such an amendment is not within the competence of the Scottish Parliament.

The current legal framework for Drug Checking facilities comes under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and an amendment to the act in relation to ‘Controlled Drugs’ which provides authorisation via the use of a license. The license can be applied for through the UK Home Office.

Scottish Government Officials will continue to work with Home Office colleagues as license applications from the proposed pilot cities progress. Police Scotland have also been involved in this work, alongside Crown Office.

We are developing our new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy, which has an overarching aim that everyone in Scotland receives well-coordinated, timely and high-quality palliative care, care around death and bereavement support based on their needs and preferences, including support for families and carers. We want people to receive care where they feel most comfortable. For many, but not all, this will be at home, supported by their family and friends and cared for by primary care teams and care staff.

We have established a number of working groups, including a Children and Young People’s Palliative Care Working Group and a Workforce Education, Training and Resources Working Group. These groups will develop evidence-based recommendations for future service planning, delivery, and improvements in equity of access and continuity of care. They will consider the actions that need to be taken to support the care of children and young people in their own homes, where appropriate. This includes determining what additional training and support community nursing teams may need to enable this.

The Lord Advocate provided specific parameters, which were set out in a statement on 3 November 2021, it stipulated in order for a new proposal to be considered it would need to be precise, detailed and specific, which was underpinned by evidence and supported by those who would be responsible for policing such a facility, and by Police Scotland.

The current proposal, as developed by Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership, is only for a site within Glasgow.

An underlying principle of the new National Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Scotland will be equitable and timely access to general and specialist palliative care as needed by each person of any age, living with any illnesses, in all places.

As part of this work we are reviewing the information and evidence we have, and need, to develop the strategy. This includes gathering data on current and projected needs for palliative care at a population level, mapping services and support across Scotland, and building on our understanding of people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care.

The outputs of this work will give us a clearer picture of the delivery and accessibility of palliative care across Scotland, including in remote rural and island communities, and will allow us to develop evidence-based actions to ensure that people have equitable access to general and specialist palliative care if and when they need it, regardless of where they live.

The Scottish Government is currently developing the new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy for Scotland and intends to publish this in 2024.

We have appointed a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care to drive the development and delivery of the strategy, supported by a Clinical and Practice Advisory Group and a wide-reaching Strategy Steering Group (SSG).

The SSG is currently reviewing the information and evidence we have and need to develop the strategy, including current and projected data on palliative care needs, mapping services and support across Scotland, and engaging with patients, families and the wider public to understand their awareness and experiences of palliative and end of life care.

The SSG will discuss the timeline for producing a draft strategy for consultation, informed by this evidence gathering, at their next meeting in September.