Chamber and committees

The current ScotRail franchise is due to end in November 2014. Preparatory work on how we wish to deliver future rail passenger services in Scotland is currently being undertaken, and this includes a public consultation which is expected to be launched later this year. This consultation will offer an opportunity for the public to provide opinions on the future provision of rail passenger services.

The content of the UK Government’s Strategy is a matter for the Home Office.

Preparatory work is currently being undertaken to consider the contents of any future contract for rail passenger services. This includes a public consultation, expected later this year, which will cover areas such as mobile communications and ticketing. Actual conditions of any future contract will be determined after the consultation is concluded and responses analysed.

Recent trafficking Inquiries have been conducted by the Equal Opportunities Committee and the Scottish Commissioner for Children and Young People. The current Inquiry by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission which is focussing on trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in Scotland is likely to issue its Report in November. Once the Commission’s Report is published, the Scottish Government will consider the recommendations made in each Report. At present, we have no plans to produce a human trafficking strategy.

The business case is a matter for The City of Edinburgh Council.

Health Improvement Efficiency Access Treatment (HEAT) targets reflect the agreed areas for specific accelerated improvement each year, contributing to progress towards delivery of the Scottish Government’s outcomes.

Specifically in relation to drug-related deaths, the Scottish Government is not of the view that this would be an appropriate performance measure. We are clear that drug-related deaths are too high in Scotland but the breakdown of deaths at health board level would be too small, for many of Scotland’s health boards, to provide a meaningful performance measure.

However, the existing HEAT target to ensure that 90 per cent of clients will wait no longer than three weeks from referral received to appropriate drug or alcohol treatment by March 2013 aims to support recovery and is an essential measure in reducing the risk of drug-related deaths. There are also a number of HEAT targets which similarly have had, and will have, an impact on tackling drug related deaths such as targets on: psychiatric readmissions and suicide prevention as well as waiting times for child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) and psychological therapies.

We also work very closely with the National Forum on Drug-Related Deaths (NFDRD) and have made (and continue to make) significant investment in the Drug-Related Deaths database (DRD). This database, developed and reviewed in collaboration with the NFDRD, provides important quantitative and qualitative information about each and every drug-related death in Scotland. This context help us to develop the offer of treatment, care and recovery services nationally and locally, and to plan important critical interventions.

An example of the latter is the Naloxone programme, unique to Scotland, currently being rolled out nationally. This programme will undergo thorough review to assess its impact on drug-related deaths across Scotland over the next few years.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-02472 on 26 September 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

We announced in the recent Spending Review that we intend to maintain the overall Drugs budget (£31.9 million) and the Alcohol budget (£42.3 million) in 2012-15, subject to parliament’s approval of the draft Budget Bill.

Local recovery communities have a strong part to play in sustaining people’s recovery from drugs and alcohol. The Scottish Government supports recovery communities by providing funding to NHS boards for local drug and alcohol services and support. In 2011-12, funding was protected for drugs at £28.6 million and increased for alcohol to £37 million. It is up to local alcohol and drug partnerships to decide how this funding is invested to deliver and sustain recovery for people with addictions.

In 2011-12, Scottish Government has provided earmarked funding of £31.9 million to tackle drugs, £28.6 million of which is allocated to NHS boards. This funding should be used to deliver prevention activity and recovery focussed treatment and support services on the basis of local need in line with local Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) priorities. £42.3 million was allocated to tackle alcohol misuse, £37 million of which went to NHS boards again for use in line with locally determined ADP priorities.

The remaining drug and alcohol budget is used to fund a programme of centrally managed initiatives, including funding to a selection of organisations that support people with drug problems and their families.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on how much of this funding is spent on prevention, treatment and support services and relapse prevention.