Scottish Parliament – Jan. 13, 2022 – 2

S6M-02761.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-02761 in the name of Angela Constance (Tackling Drug Related Deaths Through the First Year of the National Mission), after "loss of life;

" insert "calls on the Scottish Government to provide clarity on the future of the Drug Deaths Taskforce, its leadership and viability of the timescale for completing its final report, as well as provide an update on progress in implementing the recommendations made so far;

believes that safer drug consumption facilities, heroin-assisted treatment and drug checking facilities should be urgently progressed as part of harm reduction measures to address Scotland’s drug deaths crisis;

further believes that there needs to be swifter action to progress these measures, which can save lives, improve health outcomes and act as a gateway for vulnerable drug addicts to access drug treatment services and other forms of support;

acknowledges that the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards, developed with direction from those with lived experience, have the potential to make a positive difference to people affected by drug use, but agrees that there must be enough investment in services to turn these into reality and ensure that they are sustained in future years;

agrees that the expansion of the Police Recording Warning scheme should act as an enabler for vulnerable drug users to access treatment and support services, and that resources should be put in place to ensure that this happens;

believes that expansion of residential rehabilitation must address the needs of those areas in Scotland where there is limited service access, that barriers to provision must be identified and removed, and that action must be taken to ensure that all age groups, including young people, can access these services;

agrees that there must be a fully independent review to examine the extent to which measures announced by the Scottish Government, including those that were recommended by the Drug Deaths Taskforce, are making the most effective interventions and are tackling the drug deaths crisis;

".

Original motion(S6M-02761): That the Parliament believes that drug deaths are tragic, preventable and an unacceptable loss of life;

supports the national mission that seeks to galvanise an all-Scotland response to this public health emergency, and recognises that no single intervention will be enough on its own;

notes the need to continue to build on the work of the Drug Deaths Taskforce and other expert groups to implement evidence-led interventions that reduce deaths and improve lives;

further notes that this includes increasing capacity of rehabilitation beds by 50% and providing more than a 300% increase in publicly-funded placements;

welcomes the new Medication-Assisted Treatment Standards, including the implementation of same-day treatment and increasing the range of treatment options available across the country, to help save lives;

commends further consideration of measures to make rights real and to implement in practice a human-rights approach through person-centred care;

considers that safer consumption facilities are an important public health measure that could save lives, and supports all options within the existing legal framework being explored to enable the delivery of these facilities.