Meeting of the Parliament 30 January 2020
Absolutely. It is very upsetting. I am in touch with a number of families and I cannot believe that they are in that situation.
Joe FitzPatrick has been in his post since June 2018. Despite him not taking interventions today, I have found him to be engaging and receptive to both criticism and ideas, but no minister should be expected to tackle these complex and deep-rooted challenges on their own. A public health approach is crucial, as is cross-portfolio action. I say to the First Minister and all of her Cabinet, which includes the Lord Advocate, that they must step up, share the responsibility and ensure that every part of Government that can make a difference, no matter how small, is actively engaged in measures to prevent and reduce alcohol and drug harms.
My colleague Jenny Marra will use her time in this debate to talk about the drastic situation in Dundee. The Dundee drugs commission has made several important recommendations, but implementation has been too slow. Why do we continue to move at a snail’s pace when people’s lives are at risk?
The forthcoming summit in February is an important opportunity. The recommendations of the Scottish Affairs Committee and the Health and Social Care Committee are rooted in international evidence, and the UK Government should accept them. As a minimum, safe consumption rooms should be piloted in Glasgow, where rising HIV infection rates are an additional risk factor, and in Dundee, which is the city with the highest drug death rate in Europe. Our amendment highlights where funding has been cut—not to point fingers, but to confront the consequences and ensure that we make better choices in the future.
I hope that today’s debate will lead to immediate action to save lives and give people hope.
I move amendment S5M-20635.3, to insert after the first “public health-led approach;”:
“acknowledges that there were 1,187 drug-related deaths and 1,136 alcohol-related deaths in 2018; is concerned by reports that the number of drug-related deaths could increase further for 2019; considers up-to-date information and data to be crucial for understanding the extent and cause of drug-related deaths, as well as informing preventative interventions from public services; believes delays to forensic toxicology reports for deaths reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are therefore unacceptable; recognises the role of frontline staff, volunteers, families and the wider recovery community in supporting people affected by substance misuse; affirms the need for adequate funding of treatment and recovery services following the £40 million cumulative real terms reduction in alcohol and drug partnerships funding between 2014-15 and 2018-19, which negatively impacted the provision and capacity of essential addiction services;”.
15:17Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.