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Plenary, 11 May 2000

11 May 2000 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Drugs Action Plan

Simpson, Dr Richard Lab Ochil Watch on SPTV

I join my colleagues in welcoming the minister's statement as yet another step along the way to developing an effective strategy to deal with a problem that is not getting better but is getting worse.

I particularly welcome the analysis of the £250 million—we look forward to receiving the detail of that—and the mapping of all existing services, which is an exercise that is fundamental to our understanding of the drugs problem.

I thank Fiona Hyslop for referring to my motion. The Parliament should have a committee on drugs as it is such an important issue. We must play our part collectively so that we can monitor and sometimes challenge the work of the ministerial committee on tackling drug misuse. A parliamentary committee on drugs would also provide a focus for people who might wish to comment on the strategy in other ways. My motion, which was signed by 32 members, lapsed during the recess. I have now resubmitted it and I hope that members will sign it, so that we can move towards establishing that committee, although I appreciate that we are having difficulties with the amount of time that members are able to spend in committees.

I want to raise a specific issue, which illustrates the problem of using AIDS funding for drug-related work in many areas. In the Forth valley area, there is a risk that the health board's drug action team will run out of funding in September. While the board has agreed to continue funding the team until April next year, the rejigging of AIDS funding has caused difficulties. I know that the minister has been involved in discussions about those difficulties, and it would be interesting to learn whether that is a general problem or whether it is specific to my constituency.

I welcome the developments on social inclusion partnerships. While those developments have been slower than some members would like, it is important that we get them right. I hope that the minister will support groups such as Locals Against Drugs in Alloa, in my constituency, which has now received funding. I hope that he will ensure that bureaucracy of the support systems that we are putting in place is minimised for such groups and that he will address the question of funding beyond three years—this is not a short-term issue—so that they do not have to start considering exit strategies before they have begun their work.

I worked in the Scottish Prison Service for 26 years, and have seen the huge changes in prisons brought about by the fact that the overwhelming majority of prisoners have committed drug-related offences or are involved in drugs. Drugs are a crucial problem in prisons, and one of the most difficult aspects of that problem is the fact that remand and custodial sentences might interrupt a prisoner's through-care. As part of the Prison Service's new drugs strategy, which is about to be published, I hope that the minister will address the problems caused to the management and support of drug addicts when they are interrupted by remand and short-term sentences.

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Plenary, 11 May 2000

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