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Health Committee, 23 Jan 2007

23 Jan 2007 · S2 · Health Committee

Item of business

Treatment of Drug Users

Deacon, Susan Lab Edinburgh East and Musselburgh Watch on SPTV

Convener, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend today's meeting. Part of the reason for my interest in the subject—this will be the third parliamentary committee that I have voluntarily attended today—is that, over the past couple of years, I have been involved in a United Kingdom-wide piece of work on drugs policy. Therefore, I ask my first question as someone who has wider UK experiences. South of the border, a national treatment agency has been established. I do not for a moment advocate that we should mirror that. However, in the absence of such an agency in Scotland, how can we get better at gathering the required data, achieving better co-ordination of services and creating more equity of access and of targets across the country?Another dimension that I want to ask about also relates to the comparison with the rest of the UK. I detect a growing concern—in particular south of the border, although I have heard echoes of it in Scotland—about the emphasis that has been placed on the criminal justice dimension of drugs policy. Indeed, both north and south of the border, the lead responsibility for dealing with drugs lies in the criminal justice area. There is a concern that, more and more, it is becoming almost a requirement for drug users to have entered the criminal justice system before they get access to treatment services. Certainly, some emerging evidence in England suggests that that provides a quicker route to treatment services. What is being done in Scotland to avoid that kind of imbalance? I am sure that everyone will agree that it is perfectly acceptable and appropriate that the criminal justice system should provide people with a route into treatment, but people should obviously be able to get treatment without having committed a crime.If I have time, I also want to lob in some questions on a couple of different areas. It would be helpful if the minister could comment on the range of treatment services that is available. In the earlier evidence session, Tom Wood and others pointed out that much of the debate is about heroin—and, by extension, methadone—whereas there is emerging evidence of people using a wide range of drugs. Increasingly, treatment for non-opiates is one of the biggest challenges that we face.Finally, as colleagues will know, I also have a profound interest in sexual health issues so I would be grateful if the minister could comment on two further aspects. First, the original report "Hidden Harm: Responding to the needs of children of problem drug users" that the Home Office's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs published in 2003 stated very clearly that services such as family planning and contraception should be firmly integrated with, and developed alongside, treatment and addiction services. What progress has been made in that regard?Last but not least, I want to ask about HIV. Globally, there is enormous evidence that countries with cultures very different from ours—and with attitudes towards drugs use that are considerably less tolerant than our own—are putting in place what might be dubbed harm reduction measures so that, first and foremost, they can stem the spread of HIV. Can the minister assure us that that remains part of the approach that is being taken here in Scotland?

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Health Committee, 23 Jan 2007

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