Chamber and committees

Yes. We will continue to work with local systems on ensuring that the money that is provided for ADPs is spent on the services that we would expect to be delivered.

ADP funding has doubled, as Ms Dowey recognises, and as is covered by Audit Scotland. There has been an increase in ADP funding, and that is provided both through the regular funding for alcohol and drug partnerships and through the increase that has been provided from the national mission funding.

There is local decision making at play here, and I do not want to cut across that, nor disrespect the principle of local decision making itself, as Ms Dowey will recognise. However, we are looking at how we can work with local systems. I have a wider interest, beyond this policy area, in our health and social care partnerships on issues such as social care and making sure that there is transparency about where the money is going so that services are tailored to the people who need them. That is as true for social care as it is, in this case, for people seeking alcohol and drug services.

We are making progress on the stigma action plan, as Maggie Page set out. The workforce plan—I will be corrected if I am wrong—is being progressed at the end of this year, and we are coming forward with more advice there. There is work in train on all three areas, and I would be happy to provide the committees with more information on that if it is not in the written evidence that I provided previously.

I will get Maggie Page to provide the exact number. The most recent increase that we gave to funding residential rehab was £38 million, providing an increase of 140 beds. Public Health Scotland has estimated that, in the most recent period for which we have data available, 938 people have been publicly funded to go through residential rehab. We can say with confidence that we are on track to meet the commitment that 1,000 publicly funded spaces a year will be available.

That is an important aspect of the wider commitment that we are making, because there is no single route by which people can achieve recovery. As Ms Wells will testify, there will be different circumstances at play for every person who has a drug or alcohol dependency. It is therefore important that we take a person-centred approach. We need to provide a balance and make available a range of harm reduction and treatment, so that we can give people the opportunity to find a way to recover at a pace that suits them. That includes the Corra Foundation support that we are providing.

Maggie Page will be able to provide you with the exact numbers of what we have.

We are considering the recommendations carefully. There is a lot in the report that demonstrates the progress that we have made already. Some of the recommendations, such as strengthening local leadership and providing greater transparency, are areas in which we are already developing work. We welcome the report, and we are still considering our direct response to each individual recommendation, as the report was published only on 31 October.

We take seriously all the commentary that comes from Audit Scotland in general and in this area in particular. We will consider all the recommendations carefully and respond in due course.

Alongside my other updates, I will be happy to provide that information, if there is anything further on which to update the committee.

On Mr Doris’s first point, he touches on an area that we need to consider, which is whether there is a route by which we can collect robust data that is able to be published. We will consider whether more could be done in that regard.

On the second point, Maggie Page has already addressed the fact that support is available outwith the residential rehab picture and that people are being supported throughout their journey. Depending on the individual, that will shift between community organisations, statutory services and general practitioners; indeed, a variety of different individuals and organisations could and should be involved. Again, it will be difficult to audit that journey, as everybody’s journey will be slightly different, but I take the point about whether more could be done, and we will take that away and look at it.

That important area forms part of the suite of investments that are being made and the interventions that are available in order to provide a person-centred approach to responding to drug or alcohol dependency.

We have made particularly good progress on MAT standards 1 to 5, and I commend the alcohol and drug partnerships, as well as the statutory services that Paul O’Kane referenced, on the work that has been done.

Standards 6 to 10 have been more challenging, and we have more work to do on them. The intervention of some of my predecessors has been important in providing direction to alcohol and drug partnerships to meet the targets and to invest in interventions to ensure that the MAT standards are met.

Mr O’Kane queries whether there is confidence on timescales. I cannot give a guarantee today that we will meet them, but I believe that good progress is being made, as has been referenced. We will continue to support ADPs, as well as the statutory services involved, to ensure that the importance of meeting those timescales is recognised.

For some people, residential rehab and abstinence are the right route, while for others, a medically assisted treatment pathway works best. In trying to get it right for everyone, we must recognise the need for person-centred approach.

I will bring in Richard Foggo to provide more detail.

I do not have a specific timescale that I can articulate to you, convener, because the matter is still subject to negotiation and discussion with the United Kingdom Government. We have had constructive discussions with the Home Office on the drug checking pilot, and our interaction with it is important. We certainly believe that the evidence points to its being another harm reduction measure that can make a difference in saving people’s lives. It is linked to some of the work on the rapid action drug alert and response—or RADAR—system to identify issues with regard to the supply of drugs and to give people a greater understanding of what they are purchasing and, therefore, what they are using.

We want to take forward the pilot sites in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow, and that, alongside the safer consumption facility, will help us take forward our work on the basis of harm reduction, and give people the opportunity to access treatment as a result. As with the safer consumption facility, signposting would be available to help people move towards recovery opportunities. Predominantly, it is all about ensuring that we reduce harm.

Again, I will bring in Maggie Page to develop the point.

Mr Doris touches on an important consideration. I am not familiar with the specifics, but I do not think that the Government holds data on that area, and whether individual ADPs or health and social care partnerships hold it is a question to be answered.

In response to that line of inquiry, however, I absolutely see merit in looking at whether we could take this matter forward and develop it further to ensure transparency around not only availability, but clinical decision making. I will bring in Maggie Page, as she might be able to provide greater detail on that.

Ms Dowey touches on an important issue, which is the focus that is required. The Audit Scotland report recognises the national leadership and our consistency in setting out what we expect; it also recognises that there is more work to be done to provide that consistency at a local level.

I spoke earlier about the foundations that have been put in place through the national mission. Our work now is about building on that and ensuring that we are able to provide consistency.

We have provided record levels of funding to alcohol and drug partnerships, with £112 million this year; around £50 million in recurring funding; and the national mission funding. We want to ensure that there is consistency in that regard, but I also recognise the local decision making at ADP level. We will bring forward further recommendations on providing consistent standards—I will bring in Richard Foggo to provide greater clarity on that point.