Chamber and committees

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Since 2022, and up to 9 December, there have been 42 recorded drone incidents that resulted in a successful and confirmed recovery of drugs.

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to reducing deaths by suicide, whether this is by intentional self-poisoning or any other method.

Our 10 year suicide prevention strategy and action plan - published jointly with CoSLA - aims to tackle the root causes of suicide – and has a clear focus on people at higher risk of suicide, including those affected by substance use.

We are continuing to deliver the National Mission which aims to reduce drug deaths and includes specific work to improve the interaction between mental health and addiction recovery services.

We are also prioritising suicide prevention training for staff working in the substance use sector to increase their confidence and skills in supporting people at risk of suicide.

We recognise that intentional self-poisoning can be a form of self-harm, and in some cases this can increase the risk of suicide. We have provided funding to Penumbra since 2022 to deliver a bespoke Scotland-wide self-harm support service.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure children and young people learn about a variety of substances including alcohol, medicines, drugs, tobacco and solvents as part of Curriculum for Excellence. Our aim is by educating children and young people about substance use and the impact it can have on their life and health, this will prevent them making unhealthy choices. Education alone will not turn the tide of substance use but it is an important strand within a broad range of measures across the community, designed to tackle this issue.

The Scottish Government remains committed to progressing work on protecting children and young people from exposure to alcohol advertising, including commissioning Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence for restrictions on alcohol marketing. The findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey (2024) is encouraging as it showed that levels of drunkenness in school-aged children (15 year-olds) in Scotland have steadily declined and are now at their lowest in 32 years.

Integration Authorities have delegated responsibility in Scotland for providing local alcohol and drug services. This activity is coordinated by Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) and funded by the Scottish Government. In line with the Verity House Agreement, the Integration Authorities and ADPs have a significant amount of autonomy over local decision making.

Work on developing a Stigma Action Plan has taken place, alongside progress with the National Collaborative, who are publishing a Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use on 11 December 2024.

The Charter was developed by a wide network of people with experience of substance use and aims to shift power and change culture, by empowering people affected by substance use to name and claim their rights, and be involved in decisions which impact them. It will also support service providers to understand how to realise these rights.

The purpose of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards is to improve access to treatment and enable people to make an informed choice about their care. The work that services are doing to embed the MAT standards is part of realising the right to health, and therefore very much aligns with the Charter of Rights.

Since the launch of the Young Patients Family Fund in July 2021, Health Boards have reported the following number of claims were made.

We continue to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) and keep this under review.

From 2022 Local services have been directed to implement the Medication Assisted Treatment standards. MAT Standard 1 has an aim to ensure individuals get into treatment and have access to workers on the same day they ask for it.

The Scottish Government also provide additional funding to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to ensure this is achievable.

Latest full year data on the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) is available for financial year 2023-24. In 2023-24 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde reported that 4007 claims were made.

Pilots of a non-statutory support scheme began in spring 2023, with funding provided for distribution by local services to remove the barrier of transport costs for people with substance dependency, when accessing treatment. These Pathfinders, also covering people with multiple and complex needs, are taking place in 11 locations, with full implementation to support a national practice model expected to be complete in Summer 2025.

As part of their work to support implementation of the MAT standards, the 2023 National Benchmarking Report published by Public Health Scotland (PHS), detailed assessments of how areas are trying to overcome the challenges of rurality. Approaches include: high use of self-referral and telephone, ‘tele-health’ technology such as NEAR ME; wide use of bus passes, taxis, and third sector to take people to appointments. Also offering a choice of venues to be seen at, such as a GP practice, home and community hubs, as well as settings to deliver care when weather disrupts usual access.

A strength in many areas is the utilisation of informal local networks and relationships to respond to urgent presentations, even when no formal arrangements are in place. Many areas now also have formal arrangements with other Health Boards to utilise and share expertise.