To ask the Scottish Government what mechanisms are in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of individualised drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation plans, and how such data will be used to inform future policy decisions.
The Scottish Government has commissioned Public Health Scotland to carry out an evaluation of the residential rehabilitation programme. On 13 February 2024 PHS published their baseline report, covering the first two years of the National Mission and a final evaluation report will be published after the National Mission ends in 2026.
Public Health Scotland also worked in close consultation with key stakeholders to develop the core minimum dataset which will form the basis for the monitoring of residential rehabilitation. Early versions of the dataset were shared with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Advisory Group (MERAG) and the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group (RRDWG) which have representatives from individuals with experience of using substances, families and recovery organisations.
Once the data infrastructure is in place and the final report is published, the Scottish Government will complete their own report based on the findings, which will be used to inform future policy decisions.