Meeting of the Parliament 09 October 2025
First, I make it clear that the belief in a right to recovery is something that unites us all, wherever we sit in this Parliament. No one in Scotland should be denied the chance to access the support and treatment that they need to heal, recover and thrive. That will not be disputed by anyone in the chamber.
The subject is highly emotive. For me, it is not just an abstract policy debate. I grew up with the impact of alcohol addiction in my family, and I know deeply and personally how it touches lives and how it can shape a childhood, a family and a future. I am incredibly proud of my mum and my dad for how they became sober. Even in the same household, each of my parents had different recovery journeys. That illustrates to me that there is no one right road to recovery. My family’s experience stays with me every single day that I am in my role, and, as minister, I will always be open to finding new ways to improve the support that is available to people and families who are living with problematic substance use.
It is precisely because of that personal understanding that I and my ministerial colleagues have approached the proposed legislation with great care and attention. Since the introduction of the bill, the Scottish Government has been listening carefully to the range of views and evidence that have shaped the findings in its stage 1 report—both that which I have heard in my many visits and meetings since taking up the post and that which has been provided to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee. I thank everyone who provided evidence and shared their experiences. I also thank the committee for its thorough and thoughtful consideration of the bill.
The Scottish Government shares the central ambition of the bill. We agree that the level of drug and alcohol deaths is, tragically, much too high in Scotland, and we remain committed to tackling it and improving access to services. Since the national mission was announced, in January 2021, we have seen significant investment and progress in the treatment and care of people who are affected by drugs, and much of that progress has also supported people with alcohol problems.
More people can access residential rehab through our funding of eight new facilities, and we are on track to reach our target of 1,000 publicly funded placements per year by 2026. We are driving consistency of care for people through the continued implementation of medication-assisted treatment standards, and we are reducing the risk of opioid overdose through the continued distribution of thousands of naloxone kits across the country, with all front-line police now supplied with kits.
We opened the United Kingdom’s first official safer drug consumption facility in Glasgow. We developed rapid action drug alerts and response—RADAR—which is an early-warning system that is designed to alert us to new and emerging threats across the country. We put people with lived and living experience right at the heart of our charter of human rights for people who are affected by substance use, driven by the national collaborative. We are also making good progress with the development of national drug-checking facilities, and I can confirm that the Glasgow facility has now received its licence from the Home Office.
However, although we share the bill’s ambitions to improve access to treatment, we all also have a responsibility to ensure that any legislative proposals are workable, deliverable and aligned with the evidence that is available, and it is clear—