Claire Baker

3 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to improve drug treatment residential rehabilitation services for young people, in light of the Review of the Existing Literature and Evidence of Young People Experiencing Harms from Alcohol and Drugs in Scotland, which found that there were no residential service…

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government asked Andrew Horne, Chief Executive of We Are With You Scotland, to chair a multi-agency working group focusing specifically on improving drug treatment services for young people. The purpose of the group is to set clear expectations …

3 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether KPMG has been asked to conduct a review of the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards, and, if so, how much KPMG will be paid to conduct the review; what the full remit will be, and whether the heads of the (a) alcohol and drug partnerships and (b) he…

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has not asked KPMG to conduct a review of the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards. The embedding of the standards will be reported on in a document to be published in Summer 2022.

3 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what month in 2022 the licence applications to the Home Office for drug checking facilities in Glasgow and Aberdeen will be submitted.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce funded a project through Stirling University to research and develop the key components required to implement Drug Checking facilities. Research began in January 2021 and will conclude with an evaluation report in January 20…

3 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the ministerial statement by the Minister for Drugs Policy on 30 November 2021, how many of the additional 225 residential rehabilitation beds that were announced it plans to allocate to 15- to 24-year-olds experiencing drug harms.

Answer · Angela Constance: Over the course of this parliament the Scottish Government has committed £100 million to support further investment in residential rehabilitation and associated aftercare. We aim to increase the number of publicly funded placements by more than 300 per cent o…

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Lord Advocate’s statement on 22 September 2021, whether guidelines have been issued to Police Scotland on the use of recorded police warnings for simple possession offences involving Class A drugs, and, if not, when these guidelines will be issued.

Answer · Dorothy Bain: Lord Advocate’s guidelines to Police Scotland on the use of Recorded Police Warnings have been in place for a number of years. My statement to the Scottish Parliament on 22 September 2021 was reflected in a corresponding amendment to the guidelines. The curr…

24 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the Lord Advocate’s statement on 22 September 2021, whether Police Scotland can currently issue recorded police warnings for simple possession offences involving Class A drugs, and, if so, how many (a) such warnings have been issued and (b) people have been referred to drug t…

Answer · Keith Brown: As per the Lord Advocate’s Statement to the Scottish Parliament on 22 September 2021, the scope of the recorded police warning scheme has been extended to include possession only offences of Class A drugs. The Scottish Government does not hold information on …

15 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on its commitment to increase the number of employee-owned businesses in Scotland to 500 by 2030.

10 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many of the drug-related deaths that were included in the National Records for Scotland (NRS) Homeless Deaths reports for 2017-2020, were also included in the drug-related deaths figures that were published by the NRS in each year between 2017 and 2020.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Homeless Death report used classifications (known as ICD-10) for cause of death and the established National Records of Scotland definition of a drug-related death (see Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2020 ). Therefore, all drug-related deaths report…

8 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is engaging with, and investing in, the live performance sector to support its recovery.

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people (a) have died and (b) were admitted to hospital in connection with the consumption of synthetic opioids in 2020, broken down by (i) the specific substance and (ii) NHS board.

Answer · Angela Constance: National Records of Scotland produce an annual National Statistics publication each year on drug-related deaths in Scotland. The most recent report provides information on drug-related deaths details in 2020 and earlier years. Section 7 of the report provides…

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the early warning system, referenced in the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce’s Interim Report, is on track to be developed and rolled out by 31 March 2022, and whether it will detail how the system will operate.

Answer · Angela Constance: The early warning system, referenced in the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce’s Interim Report, is on track to be developed and rolled out by 31 March 2022. Public Health Scotland is leading the development and will operate this system by working closely with H…

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date the public health surveillance system, referenced in the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce’s Interim Report, will be fully operational, and what information the system will collate.

Answer · Angela Constance: The public health surveillance system for drug harms will be fully operational by 31 March 2022 and led by Public Health Scotland. An early warning system is in development and structures are in place to ensure evidence based approaches to reducing drug harms…

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has not established a drug checking service, such as WEDINOS, which was launched by NHS Wales in 2013, and whether it has any plans to establish a similar service in the future.

Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce has funded a project through Stirling University to research and develop the key components required to implement Drug Checking facilities in three areas in Scotland (Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen). Research began in January …

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the National Patient Safety Alert issued by Public Health England, Potent synthetic opioids implicated in increase in drug overdoses, which was issued on 18 August 2021, whether it has been notified of any instances of (a) isotonitazene and (b) other synthetic opioids having…

Answer · Angela Constance: The emergence of new drugs is regularly monitored by Public Health Scotland and, following the alert from Public Health England in 2021, work is underway to incorporate screening for isotonitazene into toxicology procedures for both drug-related deaths and po…

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Minister for Drugs Policy on 17 June 2021 about Public Health Scotland’s ongoing surveillance work (Official Report, c.57), how many people (a) have died and (b) were admitted to hospital in connection with the consumption of (i) isotonitazene and (ii) oth…

Answer · Angela Constance: Unfortunately, we do not hold the information requested. National Records of Scotland produce an annual National Statistics publication each year on drug-related deaths in Scotland. The most recent year for which this drug death information is available is 2…

7 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments by the Minister for Drugs Policy on 17 June 2021 about more regular reporting of drug-related deaths by the National Records of Scotland (Official Report, c.57), when the first such report will be published, and how many reports will be published in each year.

Answer · Angela Constance: From September 2021 we have introduced quarterly reporting of suspected drug-related deaths, providing far more timely data on the DRD crisis/situation for the first time. This report uses management information from Police Scotland on suspected drug deaths. …

17 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Stirling’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2025, following its inclusion in the longlist for selection.

10 Nov 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that keepers of birds and poultry, and the general public, are informed and able to respond to cases of the avian influenza virus.

8 Nov 2021 · First Minister's Question

To ask the First Minister what her response is to the comments by the Lord Advocate to the Criminal Justice Committee on the potential for new proposals regarding the use of drug consumption rooms and whether non-prosecution is in the public interest.

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Drugs Policy on 26 October 2021 that there will be a "rapid review of the services that are required to support people who experience mental health and substance use problems" (Official Report, c. 69), who will carry out the review; whether i…

Answer · Angela Constance: This rapid review will be carried out by people with clinical expertise and will set out expectations for the delivery of support for people who experience mental health and substance use problems. It will involve key stakeholders and be led by the views of p…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected cost is of the national marketing campaign to reduce the stigmatisation of people with a drug problem; how long it will run for; whether it is being targeted to particular locations, and how it is being funded.

Answer · Angela Constance: We know that people with experience of drug problems, either through their own use or by association often experience stigma and discrimination that can be a barrier to people accessing help and support. We must all act to end the stigma associated with probl…

4 Nov 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement by the Minister for Drugs Policy on 26 October regarding holistic support for families (Official Report, c. 69), how much of the £3.5 million of funding for the current financial year has been allocated to each alcohol and drug partnership to support the mental …

Answer · Angela Constance: As part of our national mission to reduce drug related deaths and improve lives, we have provided Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) with £3.5 million per year to support the implementation of the Whole Family Approach Framework. This will improve holistic …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging the retrofitting of cars with electric engines by (a) incentivising individuals and businesses to have cars retrofitted with electric engines and (b) providing support for businesses specialising in retrofitting.

Answer · Graeme Dey: There are currently no funding programmes which support the retrofit of cars with electric powertrains. However, there are a range of programmes which support retrofit to other fuel sources and vehicle types, including a recent initiative that supports the …

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is encouraging and supporting co-operative business models and community ownership as a core part of the economic recovery from COVID-19.

Answer · Ivan McKee: There is a significant and increasing interest in co-operative business models in Scotland. Co-operative models are collaborative vehicles that play an important role in creating sustainable growth. They enable employees, businesses and communities to work to…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to implementing community booster share schemes, including via the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Answer · Kate Forbes: Scotland has well established approaches and sources of funding which enable our communities to do things for themselves, as well as to make their voices heard in the planning and delivery of services. We are targeting similar outcomes to those of the commun…

12 Oct 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that eligibility criteria for business support provides accessibility for co-operative business models.

Answer · Kate Forbes: The Scottish Government recognises the important role that co-operative business models play in our economy and there is a significant and increasing interest in co-operative business models in Scotland. Co-operative Development Scotland (CDS) is the arm of …

21 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting NHS boards to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on service provision over the winter.

14 Sep 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government how its policies and actions across government will support Mid Scotland and Fife to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what targets it has set for the uptake of naloxone kits, made available to the public.

Answer · Angela Constance: We believe that Naloxone should be available to anyone who might witness an overdose. Our overall aim is to widen the access to it as much as possible. Since the inception of the NNP the Scottish Government has commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to re…

2 Sep 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the projected cost is of the national marketing campaign to raise public awareness of the signs of drug overdose; how long it will run for; whether it is being targeted to particular locations, and how it is being funded.

Answer · Angela Constance: The projected cost of the overall campaign is £800,000 which is being funded by the Scottish Government‘s ‘Reducing Drug Deaths’ budget. We are working in partnership with Scottish Drugs Forum to deliver the campaign which will run until mid-November 2021. I…