Chamber
Plenary, 06 Sep 2007
06 Sep 2007 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Drugs Misuse
I take Richard Simpson's point and, like others, bow to his knowledge of the area, which is greater than mine.
Trish Godman was absolutely right to make the point that antisocial behaviour is almost always the result of misuse of mainly drink, but also drugs. In Edinburgh, the way forward has been seen through action on alcohol and drugs, a partnership of the key bodies in the city that deal with different aspects of alcohol and drugs misuse. The partnership performs a key role in allocating funding to agencies offering treatment and rehabilitation in the area of drug and alcohol misuse. It is a great scheme that seeks to ensure that there are no gaps or overlaps in the services that people with substance misuse problems receive. Funding of such schemes needs to be increased. For every £1 that is spent on treatment, £3 is saved on enforcement.
Trish Godman pointed out that it costs up to £10,000 to treat someone. She obviously has experience of that. We need to take cognisance of such experience.
I hope that the new SNP Government will spend more money on preventing drugs misuse. It has long been my party's policy that Government should spend to save in many areas of public policy. That needs to be done in this area. The cost to society of drugs misuse is huge. The Scottish Executive—when it was the Scottish Executive—estimated a cost of £330 million in relation to absenteeism, crime and the criminal justice system. If a fraction of that was better channelled towards treatment and rehabilitation, we would be a better society. What will the Government consider doing in that regard?
The previous Executive made a good start in changing our culture of drugs. I welcome the minister's commitment to extend drug treatment and testing orders, particularly for females and children. I disagree with Annabel Goldie, and think that Richard Simpson is right: we do not need more testing in prison—we should be sending fewer people to prison for short-term sentences and should use DTTOs to keep such people out of prison and thereby reduce our prison population. Duncan McNeil was right to say that we need to keep families together as far as possible and to give them help, rather than put the mother or father in prison.
DTTOs have cut reoffending rates: 48 per cent of people given an order have not reoffended within two years. Seventy per cent of cases dealt with by the courts are believed to be drug related. The DTTO method of dealing with drugs misuse is the best way of addressing drug-related criminal behaviour. That has been coupled with the work of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, which seized £70 million worth of drugs in 2005-06.
We have also tackled people who are engaged in trafficking and organised crime, with 43 new finance investigators working to seize the assets of drug dealing. Some of those assets have gone directly to communities—I know that the Royal Mile outside the Parliament is cleaned by a washer truck that was bought using such money.
My colleague Margaret Smith highlighted the need for more residential rehab places. Such rehab is very effective for most people, but at present only one person in 50 is offered a place. If we had spent more money on residential rehab for drug users it could have had a serious impact.
I am pleased that the SNP has addressed the issue, but we still await the details, as we do with so much of its programme for government.
Our amendment highlights the way forward and I urge members to support it.
Trish Godman was absolutely right to make the point that antisocial behaviour is almost always the result of misuse of mainly drink, but also drugs. In Edinburgh, the way forward has been seen through action on alcohol and drugs, a partnership of the key bodies in the city that deal with different aspects of alcohol and drugs misuse. The partnership performs a key role in allocating funding to agencies offering treatment and rehabilitation in the area of drug and alcohol misuse. It is a great scheme that seeks to ensure that there are no gaps or overlaps in the services that people with substance misuse problems receive. Funding of such schemes needs to be increased. For every £1 that is spent on treatment, £3 is saved on enforcement.
Trish Godman pointed out that it costs up to £10,000 to treat someone. She obviously has experience of that. We need to take cognisance of such experience.
I hope that the new SNP Government will spend more money on preventing drugs misuse. It has long been my party's policy that Government should spend to save in many areas of public policy. That needs to be done in this area. The cost to society of drugs misuse is huge. The Scottish Executive—when it was the Scottish Executive—estimated a cost of £330 million in relation to absenteeism, crime and the criminal justice system. If a fraction of that was better channelled towards treatment and rehabilitation, we would be a better society. What will the Government consider doing in that regard?
The previous Executive made a good start in changing our culture of drugs. I welcome the minister's commitment to extend drug treatment and testing orders, particularly for females and children. I disagree with Annabel Goldie, and think that Richard Simpson is right: we do not need more testing in prison—we should be sending fewer people to prison for short-term sentences and should use DTTOs to keep such people out of prison and thereby reduce our prison population. Duncan McNeil was right to say that we need to keep families together as far as possible and to give them help, rather than put the mother or father in prison.
DTTOs have cut reoffending rates: 48 per cent of people given an order have not reoffended within two years. Seventy per cent of cases dealt with by the courts are believed to be drug related. The DTTO method of dealing with drugs misuse is the best way of addressing drug-related criminal behaviour. That has been coupled with the work of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, which seized £70 million worth of drugs in 2005-06.
We have also tackled people who are engaged in trafficking and organised crime, with 43 new finance investigators working to seize the assets of drug dealing. Some of those assets have gone directly to communities—I know that the Royal Mile outside the Parliament is cleaned by a washer truck that was bought using such money.
My colleague Margaret Smith highlighted the need for more residential rehab places. Such rehab is very effective for most people, but at present only one person in 50 is offered a place. If we had spent more money on residential rehab for drug users it could have had a serious impact.
I am pleased that the SNP has addressed the issue, but we still await the details, as we do with so much of its programme for government.
Our amendment highlights the way forward and I urge members to support it.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Alex Fergusson):
NPA
The next item of business is a debate on motion S3M-415, in the name of Kenny MacAskill, on tackling drugs misuse. I call Fergus Ewing to speak to and move t...
The Minister for Community Safety (Fergus Ewing):
SNP
It is fitting that the first Government debate of the new parliamentary year concerns an issue that is vital to the future of Scotland. If we are to realise ...
Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD):
LD
I thank colleagues for their courtesy in allowing me to head off early because of my back problems.I echo Fergus Ewing's comments on the importance of the is...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I thank Miss Smith for her courtesy in informing me that she is unable to stay for the entire debate.
Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab):
Lab
You will note, Presiding Officer, that we have not submitted a Labour amendment to the motion. That should not imply that we have no questions or issues to r...
Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP):
SNP
I hope that the member does not wish to create the impression that illicit drugs use occurs exclusively in our deprived communities, because that is not the ...
Margaret Curran:
Lab
I suspect that Brian Adam is the only person to draw that conclusion, as I did not say that drugs misuse is exclusive to deprived areas. However, statistical...
Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con):
Con
I very much welcome this opportunity to debate the issue of tackling drugs misuse and congratulate the cabinet secretary on bringing the topic to the chamber...
Dr Richard Simpson (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab):
Lab
The mandatory testing system that the Conservatives introduced at great expense into the prison service a considerable time ago has been counterproductive. I...
Annabel Goldie:
Con
I am not able to agree totally with Dr Simpson, although his attitude probably explains why we now have such an unprecedented drug addiction problem in our p...
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I will endeavour not to repeat statistics that have already been cited in the debate, but perhaps I can begin by highlighting a few other figures. Although I...
Dr Simpson:
Lab
I am sorry to contradict Christine Grahame, but the Scottish schools adolescent lifestyle and substance use survey, which is a two-yearly study that looks at...
Christine Grahame:
SNP
I defer to Dr Simpson's knowledge in certain areas, but the headline that I quoted refers to a serious report, which I hope he will read. Its evidence reflec...
Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab):
Lab
The motion says everything—well, almost everything. There is not a lot in it with which we could disagree. However, there is not enough—or perhaps anything—a...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I will use speeches that we have heard so far as the framework for mine. Fergus Ewing gave a full account of the work that he is undertaking—we wish him the ...
Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Members will have various experiences of the drugs problems in Scotland and in their local communities. I certainly hope that the new SNP Government can buil...
Dr Simpson:
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Stuart McMillan:
SNP
I am sorry, but not at the moment.I live in Greenock in Inverclyde, an area that has well-documented drugs problems. Duncan McNeil and I are fully aware of t...
Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab):
Lab
I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue. Because of its impact on communities and families right across Scotland, no issue is more important for us t...
John Lamont (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con):
Con
A couple of weeks ago, I served a night shift with the local police force down in my constituency in the Borders. I was able to see at first hand what the po...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan):
SNP
I can give Bill Wilson just under six minutes.
Bill Wilson (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Thank you, Presiding Officer—that means that I can put some of the scored-out bits of my speech back in.I congratulate Fergus Ewing on his presentation of th...
Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD):
LD
I am delighted that the first debate of this term to which I am contributing is on the important issue of drugs misuse. I thank Kenny MacAskill for bringing ...
Dr Simpson:
Lab
The answer to the member's question about whether research has been done in this area is yes. The estimated number of children who are associated with drug-u...
Mike Pringle:
LD
I take Richard Simpson's point and, like others, bow to his knowledge of the area, which is greater than mine.Trish Godman was absolutely right to make the p...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con):
Con
I have found this debate encouraging. Not only have there been a lot of positive contributions in which members have drawn on their expertise from previous o...
Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab):
Lab
I want to maintain the spirit of consensus, after one slight interruption. John Lamont said that Annabel Goldie raised the issue of drugs misuse even when it...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill):
SNP
I thank colleagues from all parts of the chamber for their contributions to the debate. Many members spoke eloquently, passionately and, indeed, poignantly—s...