In November 2021, the former Minister for Drugs Policy announced a commitment to increase the number of people publicly funded to go through residential rehab per year by 300% to 1,000 by 2026.

Tackling health inequalities and improving life expectancy remain clear aims of the Scottish Government. To achieve this, we are taking forward wide-ranging action targeted to support communities most in need and address the root causes of inequality; which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and other recent economic shocks.

This includes allocating around £3 billion a year since 2022-23 to tackle poverty and protect people during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis - as well as initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles through tobacco control, preventing alcohol related harm, promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Reinforced by targeted action through our Women’s Health Plan, which clearly sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness across women’s health, improving access to healthcare for women across their lives and tackling inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls.

We are also working with our partners to develop a Population Health Framework, to take a cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve the key building blocks of health including: good early years and education; good work and income; healthy places; and equitable health care. With an overarching ambition to accelerate the recovery and improvement of population health in Scotland with a focus on a whole system approach to preventative action.

As residential rehabilitation is a cross-cutting intervention for both alcohol and drug use, the answer provided to one of the member’s proceeding questions (ref. S6W-31156 on 21 November 2024), specific to alcohol use is also applicable to this question about drug use.

The Scottish Government has been working with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to aid the development of clear pathways into through and out of residential rehabilitation, and has commissioned the establishment of residential rehabilitation pathway development clusters by Healthcare Improvement Scotland which has resulted in 29/30 ADPs publishing their pathway. This will facilitate an increase in publicly funded placements across the country, and support utilisation of new and renovated facilities.

We also announced the completion of a national online service directory in August which provides a nationwide list of residential rehabilitation providers for the first time, empowering individuals and their loved ones to learn about and access quality residential rehabilitation and identify the best service to support them.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The national specification is the first stage of developing national standards and regulations for substance use services. The specification will outline the types of services which should be made available within all local areas. The second phase will be the development of standards which services will be expected to meet and the third phase will be the development of regulations on the basis of which services will be inspected. It is hoped that the regulations will be published by 2028. The completion of all three phases will support clarity and accountability on service providers as recommended within the Audit Scotland report.

The purpose of the National Specification is to provide clarity on the range of substance use support services which should be available in local areas as the first phase in developing National Standards and regulations. The specification will take into account the outcomes of the current Public Health Scotland review into the reduction of referrals to Tier 3 and Trier 4 services to ensure that all services, including Tier 1 and Tier 2, are included in suggested improvements. This will help local services to set out future strategic plans to deliver on their commitment to reduce alcohol and drug deaths and associated harms and to improve the lives of those impacted by alcohol and drugs. This will support people in being aware of the services that are available to them whether structured on more informal, such awareness is important in empowering people to make informed choices about their needs. Throughout the national specification there is emphasis on the need to provide person centred care for each individual to supporting meeting individual needs.

Cancer remains a national priority, within the Scottish Government and across NHS Scotland. Our Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 was published in June 2023.

We know that there is a clear relationship between alcohol consumption and increased risk of developing certain cancers, including breast cancer. Successful implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies targeted at harmful health behaviours could prevent approximately 40% of cancers.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems in partnership with Scottish Government shared information with primary care providers on the link between alcohol and some cancers in 2022-23, and maintains guidance on this on its website.

The Scottish Government has also increased the minimum unit price of alcohol to 65 pence per unit from 30 September 2024, and commissioned Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence for potential restrictions on alcohol marketing. If the evidence supports it, the Scottish Government will consult on focused proposals at a future date.

The Scottish Government are working to address the stigma that people affected by substance use issues face when accessing treatment, which can be particularly acute for women.

We made a combined £13.5 million available to Phoenix Futures and Aberlour Childcare Trust to develop three new rehabilitation services specifically designed to support women and their families through recovery from both alcohol and drug use.

We have also convened an expert working group to develop a good practice guide to improve the support and care that women and their infants receive during the perinatal period, which will reach across drugs and alcohol, social work and maternity and wider health services.

We are committed to ensuring that people living with respiratory conditions receive the best possible care, treatment and support. Our Respiratory Care Action Plan sets our priorities and commitments for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions such as COPD.

The funding announced in the UK Autumn Statement is welcome, however, the Scottish Government continues to face the most challenging financial situation since devolution. The new Scottish Budget will be presented to Parliament on 4 December 2024. This will detail Scottish Ministers spend proposals for the year ahead.

Development of the National Specification for substance use services is underway and we expect to publish in the first quarter of 2025

The Scottish Government are working to implement specific recommendations from the Drug Deaths Taskforce relating to the stigma that women very often face when accessing drug and alcohol treatment.

We are working to ensure that a gender-sensitive approach is taken across all new and developing initiatives in the National Drugs Mission, and are taking specific steps to address the particular stigma faced by women who have children.

This includes convening an expert working group to develop a good practice guide to improve the support and care that women and their infants receive during the perinatal period, which will reach across drugs and alcohol, social work and maternity and wider health services.