Chamber and committees

Our framework Drug and alcohol services - improving holistic family support - gov.scot (www.gov.scot), which was published on 8 December 2021, sets out principles of how we will improve holistic support for families affected by drugs and alcohol by taking a whole family approach and using family inclusive practice.

The framework is supported by investing totalling £6.5 million per year over the life of the Parliament.

We are working with local areas to improve their family support and implement family inclusive practice across alcohol and drug services. This is supported by a national working group.

The Scottish Government national working group set up to improve family support and inclusive family practices across drug and alcohol services, includes members from the following organisations:

Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA)

Aberlour

Care Inspectorate

The Corra foundation

Quarriers

Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs

Circle

COSLA

The Beacons – My Support Day

Alcohol and Drug Partnerships

Young people can be referred to Routes from anywhere but are mainly referred to Routes by schools. Referrals are also made by addiction services, GPs, local authorities, social workers and family members. Young people often refer friends and they can self-refer.

In 2023-24, there was a monthly average caseload of 134 young people supported by the service, this included 1818 hours of one-to-one sessions, 1,234 group services, 241 hours in professional meetings with housing, education and teaching. This information can be found in the Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol 2023-24 impact statement; Impact Reports - SFAD

Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol have an active caseload of 152 young people in East and West Dunbartonshire. They have supported a total of 187 young people.

Each of the six Grow Your Own Routes partnership services has between 27 and 77 young people on their current caseload. The total number of young people being supported by the Grow Your Own Routes partners is 296.

The total number of young people who have ever been supported by Routes across Scotland is 483.

Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs supports young people through the Routes programme in East and West Dunbartonshire. Through Scottish Government funding, Routes has expanded to ‘Grow Your Own Routes’ partnership services at Barnardos in North Lanarkshire, Action for Children in Renfrewshire, Aberlour in Falkirk, Right There in Orkney, ADA in Aberdeenshire and Circle in East Lothian.

Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs are also funding some small Grow Your Own Routes grants of £5K to other areas who want to trial Routes. This has included £5K to South Lanarkshire (My Support Day) and Helensburgh and Lomond (Young Carers).

The Scottish Government do not hold any data on the number of children that currently have at least one parent or parental figure with a drug addiction, nor do we collect data that could make an informed assessment of this or provide a proxy.

The Scottish Government has committed to funding this facility for £2 million annually until March 2026. To date, the only Scottish Government spend on this facility is the first tranche of funding for 2024-25 which was £760,000, provided to the HSCP in August. The second tranche of funding for 2024-25 is due to be provided in December.

All family members, including children and young people, need support in their own right when their family is affected by substance use.

The ‘Whole Family Approach’, supported by the ‘Family Inclusive Practice Framework’, is being implemented locally to ensure tailored support and access to resources for everyone in need. Local services will receive a £6.5 million investment per year over the life of the Parliament.

In addition to this, we provide annual funding to national organisation Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs, which offers free resources, helplines, peer support groups, and counselling specifically designed for families using substances.

In 2023, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs received government funding to expand their ‘Routes’ initiative nationally for young people impacted by parental substance use.

Through the Routes initiative, young people can access counselling services and attend peer support groups to help reduce isolation, as well taking part in group experiences and developing practical skills to increase their chance of a happy and fulfilling future.

We are investing nearly £4 million to expand the successful Routes model in to Falkirk, Aberdeenshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, East Lothian and Orkney.

The anticipated full year spend (12 months from opening, not the financial year) is £2.3 million. This funding is largely to cover the staffing of the facility. Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership have funded the building works and furnishings.

The Scottish Government does not hold any data on the number of households that currently have at least one person with an alcohol addiction.