Hansard

I thank Nanette Milne for moving the motion and allowing a debate on one of the biggest issues that Scotland faces today. As Richard Simpson said, the debate has been largely consensual. We even had sight of one of the rarest creatures to be seen in the chamber—a consensual and non-partisan speech from Kenneth Gibson. However, I dare say that those who, like me, pine for more party-political knockabout will have to wait only a few moments until the next debate, when I am sure that normal service will be resumed.

Unfortunately, drugs are widespread throughout Scotland. People in all age groups take drugs, and they are in our cities and our rural communities. Some people take drugs recreationally; some people, sadly, are addicts and have their lives consumed as a result. Drugs can and do ruin lives, leading to isolation and cutting people off from their family and friends. As we have heard, addiction to drugs can lead to a rise in crime levels as individuals resort to theft in order to pay for their habit, thus having an impact on the law-abiding citizens who are victims as a result. Drugs impact on the whole of the victim’s family and on the wider community. We could take up a whole week’s debating time in debating drugs, the problems that they create for society and how we should combat them better, but today we are concentrating on rehabilitation and support for the families that are affected by drugs.

I was impressed to hear from Nanette Milne of the life-changing work that is done by the Grampian Family Support Forum in her parliamentary region. It is clear from the speeches of other members from the north-east who have come across that group just how much its work is valued. I join other members in congratulating the forum on its successful participation in the third phase of the Parliament’s community partnership project.

We can learn lessons from the good work that is being done in Grampian. There is a groundswell of excellent work being done throughout the country, involving voluntary groups in collaboration with local authorities and health boards. In Mid Scotland and Fife, we have groups such as the Drug and Alcohol Project Limited, which offers one-to-one counselling, support, information and advice to individuals and families who are affected by substance abuse and who live in Fife. The Drug and Alcohol Project Limited has experienced workers who provide an essential service to families that are affected by drugs, which is free and confidential. There is also the community alcohol and drug service for the Forth valley, which offers services, help and advice, and the Perth drug and alcohol service, which is run jointly by Perth and Kinross Council and the national health service, does a great deal of vital work in the local area and provides support to families. Those are just some of the tremendous groups in my area that carry out vital work for individuals who are addicted to drugs and give personal support to families who can otherwise feel helpless as they see a loved one consumed by addiction.

The message is clear: support for families who are affected by drug abuse is crucial in a national drugs strategy. We need a national drugs strategy that works and makes a real difference for individuals who want to stop taking drugs, and I welcome the minister’s comments, which show that the Scottish Government recognises that.

Roseanna Cunningham touched on the question of waiting times. Each year, the Scottish Government agrees a number of national NHS performance targets that are known as health improvement, efficiency, access and treatment targets. NHS boards and the Scottish Government monitor boards’ progress against the national HEAT targets and the progress is published on the Scottish Government’s Scotland performs website. I welcome the openness of the targets, as it is important that we all have the opportunity to measure how well individual health boards are doing.

On drug recovery services that are delivered by the NHS, the HEAT target states:

“By March 2013, 90 per cent of clients will wait no longer than 3 weeks from referral received to appropriate drug or alcohol treatment that supports their recovery.”

Between October and December 2011, the Scotland average for meeting the HEAT target was 84.9 per cent of individuals waiting no longer than three weeks from referral to receive treatment. That is impressively close to meeting the target fully. However, the picture in different parts of the country is not so good. In NHS Tayside, in the area that I represent and where Roseanna Cunningham is based, only 65.9 per cent of patients wait no longer than three weeks from referral to receive

“appropriate drug or alcohol treatment that supports their recovery.”

Only NHS Lothian has a worse record. It is important that all health boards put in place the necessary resources and expertise that will bring about improvements in waiting times. If we are serious about pursuing this agenda, it is essential that individuals who seek or need help should not have to wait any longer than three weeks from referral to receive treatment. One of the first acts towards recovery is wanting to recover. However, when people make that decision and that choice, the necessary services to help them and their families must be available.

To the one or two SNP members who raised the issue of welfare reform and its consequences, I gently make the point that they should perhaps look first at the areas in which the Scottish Government has control and responsibility before looking at areas that are outside its remit.

Neil Bibby and Mark McDonald raised the important issue of tackling stigma. Too much stigma is attached to drug addicts, and that has an impact on their families. We must work much harder to address that, because that can often be a barrier to people coming forward and seeking help.

Neil Bibby and Liz Smith raised the important issue of kinship care. Liz Smith was clear that we have failed to deliver on the promises that have been made to kinship carers. We must all work harder to make better progress on that issue.

We must assist families who are affected by drug abuse, and we must ensure that children who are affected by a parent or parents who have a drug problem are properly supported.

Drug addiction is a social ill, but it is also a complicated and a serious issue. It is easy for us to stand up in this chamber and say that we must help individuals to get off drugs and provide support to their families. It is much harder to ensure that that happens in practice. Groups such as the forum in Grampian are on the ground and are doing some of the hardest, most rewarding and most important work in Scotland. That is why I commend the motion and the amendments to the chamber.