Government's drug and alcohol plans must be clearer, says report

The Scottish government must come up with a clearer spending plan for its "complex" drug and alcohol services, a watchdog has said.

A report by Audit Scotland has urged ministers to provide more transparency on initiatives aimed at tackling the problems.

A total of 1,339 Scots died from drugs misuse in 2020 - a record number for the seventh year in a row.

Meanwhile, 1,190 died solely because of alcohol, according to official figures.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pledged £250m over this parliamentary term to tackle the drug deaths issue.

It came after the Scottish Drug Death Taskforce was set up in 2019 to gather evidence and provide solutions to the drugs emergency.

The taskforce is now being headed by former chief constable David Strang, following the resignation Prof Catriona Matheson last December.

But Audit Scotland said more information on how much was being invested by the government, along with where it was being spent, should be available in one place.

"This includes more clarity on the different funding streams, which organisations are receiving funding, the purpose of funding and how decisions are made on prioritisation and distribution of funding," the report said.

The report goes on to urge ministers to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of its spending "and the level of investment in prevention needed to achieve maximum benefit".

Auditor General Stephen Boyle said: "We've recently seen more drive and leadership around drug and alcohol misuse from the Scottish government.

"But it's still hard to see what impact policy is having on people living in the most deprived areas, where long-standing inequalities remain."

He insisted drug and alcohol data was not good enough, while there was a lack of clarity about how money was being spent and allocated.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish government welcomed the report, acknowledging that Audit Scotland expressed "some concerns".

She said: "We are investing record sums in the provision of services to address the impacts of both alcohol and drug use.

"In 2021/22, we provided the first £50m of additional national mission funding, which will see an additional £250m invested over the life of the parliament to improve outcomes for people who are harmed by drugs, and their families and communities.

"We are also exploring the evidence around managed alcohol programmes."

The spokeswoman added: "We will shortly be announcing a target to commence on 1 April which will increase the number of people in protective treatment for problematic drug use.

"We are also working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to improve alcohol treatment data, including the development of PHS's surveillance system."

Scottish Tory drugs spokeswoman Sue Webber said the report was "utterly damning" for the Scottish government.

She added: "This report makes it clear that the SNP's current strategies to help those struggling with addiction are simply not working."

Scottish Labour's Claire Baker said the government should use "every power in our arsenal" to improve drugs services.

Ms Baker added: "We need a real plan and a public health response that will not just save lives but get people the help they need, when they need it, so we can tackle inequalities and help everyone lead fulfilling lives."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Scotland's performance on drug and alcohol deaths has been truly terrible, particularly in many of our poorest and most deprived neighbourhoods. That must change."