 The next item of business is a debate on motion 7469, in the name of Angela Constance, on national drugs mission cross-government response to the drug death task force report changing lives. I call on Angela Constance minister to speak to and to move the motion up to 12 minutes please minister. Poseidon officer, every life lost to drugs is as tragic as it is unacceptable and as we enter a new year we continue to face a public health emergency and cannot underestimate the scale of this crisis. Last July the Scottish drug death task force published its final report, changing lives. This report was the culmination of three years work examining the drivers of our drug death crisis and providing evidence based recommendations for change. I want to again thank all of those who were involved in the work of the task force for their dedication and commitment. We have not waited for that final report to act since the formation of the task force we have announced our national mission and we have taken a wide range of actions to save and improve lives. Many of those actions were informed by the task force as its work developed, including the medication assisted treatment standards and the roll-out of naloxone. The task force message was clear, change is needed and change is possible. The change in lives report set out 20 recommendations and 139 action points reflecting the complexity of both the needs of people at risk of a drug death and the scale of the challenge that we face. Meeting that challenge requires a whole Government response. Indeed, a truly national mission requires an approach that involves all of us. Today, Presiding Officer, we have published our cross-Government response. This is underpinned by two transformative principles. First, we will treat problem drug use as we do any other health condition. Taking this approach across Government will help ensure that every area considers what adjustments are needed to ensure that people who are affected by problem drug use are included and not discriminated against. The second principle will also help to ensure that by including representatives with lived and living experience of problem drug use in the co-production of policies and strategies in any and all areas of policy or service delivery that affects them. Our cross-Government response sets out over 80 actions. Although there are significant challenges to tackling this drug crisis, we are determined that a lack of investment should not be one of them. Despite the huge fiscal challenges that we face, today's action plan is supported by spending commitments totaling over £68 million for the remainder of this Parliament. Drug dependency is a health issue with undeniable roots in poverty. Therefore, our response highlights the work of the Scottish Government to tackle poverty and inequality, the social determinants of health, as well as actions on early intervention and family support. I know that of particular concern right across the chamber are the testimonies that we still hear far too often of people seeking help and being turned away or told that a service cannot support them, particularly when a person has a wide range of needs. The task force and this Government are clear that no door should be the wrong door and there should be a more personalised and joined up approach to support. Getting it right for everyone or girffie is about providing a more personalised way to access help and support when it is needed, placing the person at the centre of decisions that affect them. People accessing addiction services have been identified as one of five key themes for the new girffie path finders, which will test this approach using co-design method. We will also invest a further £2.4 million over three years to implement the recommendations from their rapid review of care for people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions. We know that people need to quite often travel to access services and support and that this can be a barrier to treatment, particularly in rural areas. We will therefore work to update the referral process for access to the concessionary travel scheme and will explore the feasibility of expanding the scheme to people with a substance dependency with £0.5 million being made available for this initial pilot. The successful implementation of mat standard 7, which is all people having the option of mat shared with primary care, will see better joined up working, helping address the wider health needs and inequalities of people who use drugs. To help enable this from April 2023, we will ring fence £30 million, £10 million a year for the remainder of this Parliament from the Scottish Government's enhanced services allocation for primary care services to support specific services related to drug treatment. We will continue to embed a whole family approach and family inclusive practice building on the framework that we published in December 2021. I am particularly pleased to announce £4 million in funding to expand Roots, a programme for young people impacted by substance use in their families, supported by Scottish families, affected by alcohol and drugs. Recognising the breadth of needs that people with problem drug use often face, there are also actions on dentistry to develop a programme to meet the oral health needs of people who use drugs, actions on education to ensure provision to our children and young people reflect the latest evidence of what works in drug education, actions on employment through maximising access to and impact of our existing employability services and on housing, including the introduction of new duties to prevent homelessness. Actions set out in the cross-government response include prioritising early intervention in the criminal justice system, using custody for remand as the last resort, ensuring that people with problem substance use in the prison estate can access the support that they need, and removing barriers to accessing services and treatment on release from custody. For example, the Bail and Release from custody Scotland bill will end liberations on Friday or in advance of a public holiday, something that has presented a significant barrier to many people accessing services upon liberation. As I set out in my statement to Parliament last month, we know the challenges faced by our workforce and have brought together an expert group to develop a longer-term workforce action plan, as recommended by the task force. Today, I can also confirm half a million pounds per year to deliver this plan and a further £480,000 per year for additional recruitment to the very successful addiction workers training programme. Recognising the importance of trauma-informed workforce and services, today's publication also includes investment of up to £1.1 million per year in the national trauma training programme. Section 2 of today's publication outlines our response to the task force recommendations, which relate specifically to drug services and policy. Alongside that, we have published a supporting document that provides our current position on each of the task force's 139 actions. We have regularly discussed the importance of stabilisation and crisis services in Parliament as part of a suite of options that need to be available for people. I am therefore pleased to announce that our task force response includes a £18 million commitment to develop stabilisation and crisis care services over and above our investment of £100 million in residential rehabilitation. We will better align crisis stabilisation, detox and rehabilitation to reflect the full range of recovery pathways. All the actions that are outlined in today's publication can and will make a difference. However, we know that too often stigma stops people from seeking support and puts barriers in their way when they do. Stigma kills and actively fighting it as a crucial component of a human rights-based response to Scotland's drug death crisis. As I committed to in the debate on stigma last year, section 3 of today's publication includes our stigma action plan. As a Government, we will lead by example by reviewing our own policies to remove barriers for people affected by substance dependency. However, we also recognise the need for broader change and we will develop and implement a national programme of activity, including an accreditation scheme for organisations to improve awareness and challenge stigma across public life. That will challenge public stigma and encourage individuals to examine their own unconscious assumptions, educate people on the harms that are caused by stigma and celebrate the positive outcomes of recovery in all its form. To conclude, today's publication of our cross-government response to the task force marks the next even more ambitious phase of our national mission. It demonstrates the actions that we will take to ensure that people who need support for their drug use and their families can access both that support and any other public service that they might need without—I'm just actually about to finish, I'm afraid—you've missed a vote, Mr Marra. Do I have time, Presiding Officer? There's a little time in hand at this point, perhaps not later on in the debate, but at this point there is a little bit of time in hand. I appreciate the opportunity that the minister gives. It's in relation to the publication this week of the Ministerial Oversight Group for Mental Health and Tayside and its comments about the continued lack of interaction between mental health and substance misuse services. I know that this is an issue that we've talked about in the chamber before, but it would be good to get on the record the minister's observations about that report and what action she wants to see to take that forward. Okay, Presiding Officer, I'm very grateful to Mr Marra for that intervention. I have this report here. It is a very thorough report. I have to say that it very much aligns with the work that I am pursuing in and around the implementation of MAT, which of course is crucial to the overall integration of substance use and mental health services. It also aligns with our own rapid review into mental health and substance use care, which I will come back to Parliament with a further and more detailed response. It aligns with our own observations of the very recent mental welfare commission report. If I can assure Mr Marra that I take this report very seriously and where it relates to my portfolio interests, I will be pursuing that very vigorously indeed, not just in relation to Tayside, but obviously the length and breadth of Scotland. I do very much believe that the actions in the cross-government plan that we will take will help to ensure that people who need support for their drug use, as well as their families, can access the right support at the right time and also ensure that any public service that they might need, that they can access that without facing stigma or discrimination. I agree with the task force, change is possible and indeed change is happening, but I do look forward to hearing the contributions of colleagues from across the chamber this afternoon and I move the motion in my name. Thank you minister and could I invite all those members who wish to speak in the debate to please press the request of speak buttons now and I call on Sue Weber to speak to and to move amendment 7469.3 up to eight minutes please Ms Weber. Thank you Presiding Officer. I would first like to mention without saying to be too confrontational to start with that it was quite a challenge this week for us to look at a motion that was in front of us from the Government without the cross-party response being published at that time to give us enough time as a team to come together but I do welcome the following discussions that I had with the Government that we did get sight of it albeit yesterday. I just again want to put that on record. Consensus is always really key in this topic across the chamber but often on these benches we find we are caught between our rock in a hard place and we did with all our heart want to back fully the Government motion in front of us today but you will have noticed that we do have an amendment to that there albeit quite subtle I want to make that on record as well I move the motion in my name and I welcome the inclusion of dentistry education housing and can I just reinforce that we do welcome the report and the cross-government response to that report. Two basic principles have underpinned all the Scottish drug deaths task force work get that out firstly. Firstly the drug related deaths are preventable and that we must act now and secondly Scotland and the Scottish Government must focus on what can be done within the powers that are available. The drug deaths task force published report changing lives in July 22 and as I said I really welcome the chance to speak to that today and I met with the chair David Strang at the time of publication in the summer and we had a very frank and really positive discussion. We do all want to reduce the tragic statistics that we face and it goes without saying that every single death brought about by the misuse of drugs is a tragedy not only for the victim, for their families, friends, the loved ones and the communities that they live. More should and could be done on tackling drug related deaths in Scotland until there is meaningful and sustained downward trend in drug related deaths that's a quote that we are welcoming from the report today. Something must change and we can be that change. This is a specific recommendation from the DDTF report. We can be the chamber that unanimously stands together, puts politics to one side, says enough is enough and ensures that we have meaningful and sustained action that will save lives. Under the SNP drug related deaths have continued to get out of control. The current strategies to help those struggling with addiction have failed and are still failing. There are just not enough or they're not being put in place fast enough where it matters on the front line. Scotland still has the highest drug related death in Europe and is 3.7 times higher than the UK as a whole. We cannot forget that and we all agree as I've said that each death is a tragedy and there could be no doubt that our drug death crisis continues to be an emergency. But saying this repeatedly here in the chamber in reports and in press releases doesn't save lives. Real embedded change, societal change and action will. The changing lives report made several recommendations that I want to reinforce and draw your attention to. All people at high risk of drug related harm should be proactively identified and offered support. MAT standards should be fully implemented by May 2024. Overarching treatment and recovery guidance with defined and measurable standards should be developed and implemented. Services need to coordinate better to ensure that every person is offered support even after they leave a service and that goes to part to what Mr Marra was talking about in Tayside. Drug users should be supported when they leave prison and when they are entered. It should be better supported when they leave prison than when they entered. I would further highlight two of those points. The implementation of the MAT standards and support for drug users leaving prison. Support for drug users leaving prison is vital. When you consider that the fact that the number of prisoners caught with drugs in Scotland's jails has increased by a staggering 1,100 per cent since Nicholas Sturgeon became First Minister. Figures from the Scottish Prison Service revealed that in 2021 to 2022 that had soared to 1,832 instances. The number of deaths in Scottish prisons is also at a record high and in the past two years at least 25 of them were as a result of drug use. The shocking levels of drug use in Scotland's prisons are unacceptable. They are in damning indictment of the SNP's soft, tough justice and also a symptom of failure. I will. I was really pleased to hear Sue Webber saying that she wanted to put politics aside. Maybe she might want to reflect on what she said at the start of our speech before she keeps on making political attacks. They are helping no one. I thank the member for the intervention. I am stating facts and if that is too hard for you to face, I cannot apologise for that. I did say in my opening remarks that there are often red lines and we are stuck. These are some of them when it comes to justice. I do not think that we should have a commentary from a sedentary position. Please continue, Ms Webber. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I will go back. It is a symptom of failure to support those who are in our prisons. They demand as much right to recovery as people outside of our prison service, and many want to escape the cycle of addiction and access recovery programmes. The SNP Government's slash funding for addiction services has drugged. Yes, I will. Alex Cole-Hamilton I am very grateful to Sue Webber for giving way. She has mentioned several times the Conservatives or Douglas Ross's right to recovery bill. I speak probably across the chamber that there is a desire to support that legislation. We have not seen the detail of it. Can I ask for the record just now of Sue Webber whether that will recognise the importance of things such as safe consumption rooms, pill-checking and heroin-assisted treatment? I have not mentioned the right to recovery bill, but that comes in my clothes. They are not included in the scope of the bill, which is all about access to recovery service. I will mention other elements that you mentioned, Mr Cole-Hamilton, slightly later on. The second point that I want to highlight is the report that recommends that the MAT standards be fully implemented by May 2024. I agree that MAT standards must be implemented. However, it has been disappointing that the Scottish Government has failed, as originally intended, to introduce the MAT standards by April 2022. We are calling for urgent action to be taking to ensure that standards 1 to 5 and 6 to 10 are fully implemented by 2023 and 2024 respectively. All of us across the chamber can agree that more action needs to be taken, and as a result of the continuing crisis, we, the Scottish Conservatives, are not opposing drug consumption rooms and, more specifically, the pilot of a drug consumption room. However, we have serious reservations about their operation. We must remember that drug consumption rooms are not a silver bullet and they will not solve all of our problems. Chief Constable Ian Livingstone has said that we need to proceed with caution. While we support several of the recommendations in the report—most of the recommendations—more needs to be done, there continues to be a widening gap between the warm words of the SNP on the drugs death scandal and the reality of how little action they continue to take on the ground. As I have said today, the Scottish Government believes that an approach is needed to help people from suffering from addictions. The SNP Government must finally start listening to front-line experts and back our right to recovery bill, which would guarantee treatment for those who are most in need. I move the motion in my name. In opening today's debate for Scottish Labour, I would like to first take the opportunity to commend the work that has been done previously on those issues by my colleague Claire Baker, who has been a strong advocate for people affected by addiction, and her families and communities with a relentless and forensic evidence-based focus on the Scottish Government's work and, indeed, on what we can do further in finding new solutions that have proven to have an impact in other parts of the world. That is certainly the vein in which we intend to continue to approach those issues. We debate those issues early in this new year and, in doing so, we reflect once again on the tragic cost of drugs deaths in Scotland in the past year. As always, I seek to put those who are bereaved at the heart of our debate today and, indeed, all those who continue to live in pain. I know that members across the chamber want to see tangible progress on drugs deaths and are supportive of action that serves to meet that objective. We in Scottish Labour support the objectives of the national drugs mission to tackle the public health emergency of drugs deaths, and we recognise the Government bringing its response to the changing lives report today with 80 actions across Government. I recognise some of what Sue Webber has said about the availability of that information, but I am grateful to the minister for provision of that yesterday. There is much in the document and, of course, we support concerted Government action across all portfolios, but we must ensure that we do not lose ourselves in the detail. And ensure that we are making the right progress on the actions that can make the most difference. There have been a myriad of reports—indeed, 10 in two years—so we must ensure that reports and action plans do not sit on shelves but that they are backed by delivery and by supporting people in their lived experience. That means that we on these benches must be honest and call out areas where we feel still not enough is being done and on the issues where the Government is falling short even by its own standards. It has been three and a half years since the Government established the drugs death task force, yet tragically the most recent figures show the second most drug-related fatalities on records in Scotland, bringing the total number of drugs-related deaths since 2007 to over 12,000. It has been almost two years since the First Minister announced a national mission to tackle the drugs death crisis. However, progress has often been slow and, indeed, often painfully slow for so many people. Certainly, I will take Jamie Greene. Thank you to the member. He will know that, in the areas that we mutually represent, like in Recklide, there are stubbornly high up that league table of drug deaths and problematic deaths. Is it enough that it has been done to target specific parts of the country where there is purely propensity for much higher drug-taking criminal activity than in other parts of the country? Is enough resource actually getting to the front line in areas like Inverclyde? I am very grateful to Jamie Greene for that intervention. He makes an excellent point about those areas where there are substantial challenges. My colleague Michael Marra will no doubt speak about Dundee and the experience there. It is clear that, having met service providers in Inverclyde, there has to be more resource. Indeed, more resource is, I think, just to be able to keep the lights on and the doors open to many of those third sector services. The minister knows that I have had correspondence with her, and I am keen to work on supporting those organisations as well. However, we need to have that relentless focus on areas where those stubborn issues persist. I am sure that we will hear much of that today from around the country. I am concerned that, to date, Scotland has no drug-checking facilities, and we have not yet reached a single overdose prevention centre. The latest estimate for people living with substance dependency in Scotland is over seven years old, having been published in 2015-16. The Government has not yet provided a workforce plan to overcome the workforce challenges that are being experienced across our health and social care services, but particularly acute in addiction and rehabilitation services. I am also concerned about cuts to alcohol and drug partnerships and cuts that have been exacerbated, as I have just mentioned, in third sector providers and others, by the cuts to local government funding. Indeed, I think that we should all be concerned as well about the role ADPs will have and the associated discussion around them as the Government presses forward with the national care service. I am not sure if there is time in hand. There is a wee bit of time. Bear in mind that I have given continuity to alcohol and drugs partnerships. I am somewhat curious about the cuts that you mentioned. I wonder if you would also acknowledge the £65 million of national mission resource into the third sector. I said in my response to Jamie Greene that I am cognisant of that third sector funding. The minister and I have had discussions, particularly on third sector providers that I mentioned. I think that there is an issue about the baseline funding and ensuring that third sector providers can meet their core obligations and remain financially viable over and above the additional funding that is levered in. There is a further discussion to be had in that space. We need to ensure that ADPs are front and centre of our response and continue to receive the support so that they can continue to move forward in communities. I would like to stress that this is not about scoring partisan political points. That is a genuine belief and offer for me in this role. However, we have to acknowledge some of the commentary and the conversation that has been had with Audit Scotland, for example, in terms of overarching plans for drug and alcohol, the Parliament's own public audit committee, looking at the scale of the drug and alcohol problems facing Scotland, perhaps not being all was fully understood because of a lack of available data. We have to look at things such as medication-assisted treatment standards and the Government's commitment on those. The goalposts have shifted. We were originally at April 22 for full implementation. We know that that has shifted, as we have heard already, today. We would want to see very decisive action to ensure that that is not further delayed, because those match standards are going to be crucial in moving forward in dealing with those issues. I am very conscious of time, Deputy Presiding Officer. Families and communities need the Scottish Government to meet the magnitude of the moment. The focus must now shift to a relevant programme of delivery and implementation of meaningful steps to properly address the public health emergency. It has to start immediately with those match standards and full publication of a workforce plan for alcohol and drug partnerships. I move the amendment in my name. I now call Alex Cole-Hamilton to speak to and to move amendment 7469.1 up to six minutes, please, Mr Cole-Hamilton. Thank you very much indeed, Deputy Presiding Officer, and indeed I do move the amendment in my name. Can I welcome this debate again? It is refreshing to see the regularity now with which we address this very important issue. Given the tone and tenor of the speeches so far, it carries a consensus across the Parliament unlike many other issues. I welcome that. I also welcome the publication of the report and endorse its findings and certainly offer the minister the support of the Liberal Democrats in that regard. As we are all acutely aware, Deputy Presiding Officer, in this chamber and beyond, our drug deaths crisis is sustained on our conscience across this country. It is a national outrage. We only need to look at the official statistics to see how far still we have to travel. From 2021 alone, there are over 1,300 people succumbed to this awful, awful affliction. It is an illness, it is not a crime, it is an illness. It has a 445 per cent increase since we started recording drug-related deaths in 1996. In fact, in those 25 years, there has been approximately 15,000 lives cut short because of drugs. Those deaths have been accompanied by countless people who will never be able to hug their loved ones again. Countless families left with a permanent hole, tears and rents in our communities. It is our duty as elected representatives to put an end to this toll and to this human suffering. It is therefore heartening to see some important policy outlined in the report, particularly regarding integrated family support. That is something that I have stipulated and tried to raise since I first came to this chamber, having come from a sector and from a charity that works specifically with children affected by parental substance use. Liberal Democrats have been campaigning on for a very long time as well. However, it does concern me that over the years, despite many debates and reports and pledges, the changes that we have made and the changes that the Government has enacted have been painfully slow and almost glacial even, I hope. I believe that we are starting to see an acceleration in that process. Our country cannot afford to let rest on its laurels here or to act slowly. The range of services available to people can be life-changing and life-saving. However, they can only be so with the right infrastructure. It is therefore vital that we give support to those providing care, as much as we can, particularly those in our NHS. We must employ more staff for more training in our hospitals, our GP clinics and our pharmacies. We need to recognise the different requirements of service users in urban areas and in areas of rurality. The Minister will know that I have raised many times the issue of same-day access to treatment in areas of rurality. It also involves us giving more resources and funding to our local communities, trusting in those local relationships, as those are the people with the most knowledge and best place to offer support. Often it is those relationships, those meaningful relationships, which can offer people with chaotic substance-using behaviour a route out and a route into more comprehensive support and to act as a lifeline when times get tough, as they invariably do. It is also not enough to view the crisis at face value. We must address the prevalent link that exists between substance use and poverty. Last year, people from deprived areas were 15 times more likely to die from drug use than people in more affluent areas. That is clearly because the causes of drug addiction are complex. The risk is increased, the higher levels of trauma, adverse childhood experiences and poor physical and mental health that we know walk hand in hand with those who live and experience in deprivation. We are currently in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis that our country has faced in living memory, which means that more citizens will, by extension, be engulfed in that poverty and therefore more people are susceptible or exposed to the risk of addiction. It is only by giving tangible support to those people and the most people who most need it tackling those huge rates of inequality within Scotland that we will begin to address this problem at its underlying root cause. Given the scale of this crisis, we need radical solutions. Although attitudes are rightly beginning to shift away from viewing this problem as a criminal justice one, such a move still needs to be mirrored in our legislation. We want to start that with the introduction of safe drug consumption rooms, which we know are capable of effectively reducing drug-related harm. I hope very much that we will hear from the Lord Advocate on that soon. Moreover, the Government must outline plans for a network of these services that would hasten the roll-out upon the Lord Advocate's conclusion of her consideration should it be favourable to that line of approach. We also need to work with a sentencing council to ensure that those prosecuted for personal drug use are referred to treatment and rehabilitation as a first port of call rather than incarceration. Today, I am moving an amendment that, if successful, would oversee the roll-out of drug testing facilities. I was made aware of the crucial importance that they can play in reducing drug-related deaths due to a tragedy in my constituency that happened late last year. I will talk more about that particular example in my closing remarks. It is not our job as legislators to pass judgment on situations that have been brought about and experiences that we cannot fully understand, nor do we move any nearer to a solution by so doing. We need radical solutions that are holistic and directly addressed to drugs and the harms that they create. Whilst tackling the social and economic and childhood routes of addiction, we need to ensure that our public sector and local authorities have all the tools that they need to offer that support and not to slash their budgets. It is then and only then that we can begin to rid ourselves of the stain that is on all of our consciences. Thank you, Mr Cole-Hamilton. We will now move to the open debate. Any life lost as a result of drug harm is a tragedy, and the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to implementing approaches that we know work to save lives and reduce harm. The drugs death task force has published its report Changing Lives, which included 20 recommendations and 139 detailed actions for the Scottish Government to consider. The report represented almost three years' work with contributions from a broad range of people with expertise in the area, including those with lived and lived experience, and I know that the minister is really focused on listening to the examples from people with lived experience. One of the areas that I have a particular interest in is tackling drug-related stigma, an area that requires action from all levels of government and indeed the wider population. The Changing Lives report states that stigma kills people. The report focuses a lot on tackling stigma and discrimination. Stigma is damaging not only to the individual in terms of their mental health, their sense of self-worth, but it also discourages people from coming forward to seek the help that they need. Stigma is particularly harmful in rural areas, where communities are often very tight-knit. As Cole-Hamilton has just mentioned, communities are very tight-knit and where it can be harder to seek treatment because of the fear of prejudice and discrimination. Section 38 of the Changing Lives report states that primary care settings offer a key environment in which direct care and treatment can be offered to people who are affected by harmful drug use. Treatment services offered by, for example, GPs, dentists, community nurses, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can also help to address issues around access to drug treatment services in rural areas and therefore reduce stigma. I picked up the issue of stigma with national education for Scotland to ask if education could be created and delivered as mandatory, perhaps an online module for all health and social care staff, including pharmacists and allied health professionals, not just stigma education for those working in alcohol and drug services. I thank the member for taking an intervention. If you recall, we had some quite harrowing evidence when I was on the health committee from people in your area of Dumfries about some of the challenges that they were facing at their pharmacists, so I'm just wondering what your comments are on that. We need to speak through the chair, Emma Harper. Yes, absolutely. From the conversation that we had in the health committee, I did pick up that issue directly and it's been something that we've actioned locally and the alcohol and drug partnership team are well aware of it and they took action and that has been dealt with. I am keen to explore whether mandatory education related to stigma will add to Scotland's work to ensure that people can access the treatment that they need without prejudice and judgment. I hope that we can make progress. I think that it's really important, based on my experience as a nurse and a nurse educator, just hearing the conversations from people that I've worked with in the past. Presiding Officer, one of the other areas that is crucial in supporting people both in treatment and to overcome stigma is peer navigators, peer support workers. Those workers can and do make a difference to people's lives. The changing lives report notes that provision of navigator services across Scotland is patchy and coverage in the central belt is good, but rural areas again are less well cared for. I know that the minister is very much aware that rural areas must be addressed and I know that she has engaged with Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders and their alcohol and drug partnership in the NHS area, so I welcome that. The expansion of navigator services nationally, supported by comprehensive framework, standards and guidance, may help to remove the postcode lottery that many individuals now face when accessing services. Community-based services that link to the hospital navigator service are necessary. Knowledge of local areas is imperative for navigators and I absolutely welcome and endorse the vital and important work that we are with you are conducting who used the peer support model and I met with a local team quite recently in Dumfries at the Beclu Street Centre just last year. I would therefore ask the minister for a commitment that peer support services will be supported and expanded, particularly in rural areas. Presiding Officer, in the minister's statement to Parliament in November, she stated that she wanted to expand the scope of MAT standards so that they include treatment options for benzodiazepines. I am aware that there is current research RE and naloxone equivalent for benzodiazepines and I would be interested to hear update on treatment options for benzos from the minister that it does not have to be today though obviously, but again I know we are meeting soon. The Westminster war on drugs has been an abject failure. Instead of solving problems, it has made them worse by stigmatising those who use drugs and creating barriers to tackle substance addiction. The UK Government's latest white paper, Swift Certain Tough, New Consequences for Drug Possession, sets out a three-tier framework for adult drug possession offences. Those proposals are contradictory to the public health approach being taken in Scotland and could undermine aspects of the national mission if they are implemented here. I know that the Minister for Drugs Policy has written to the UK Minister to express opposition to those policies being operated in Scotland and I would challenge my Conservative members in this chamber to do all they can to make representations to their Westminster colleagues to ensure that policy does not impact on our approach in Scotland. Without reform of the law, efforts to tackle a drug crisis in Scotland will always be impeded and that cannot happen. I welcome the steps being taken by the minister. I know that it is not a quick fix. I know that it is a long-term work that needs to take place and I know that the minister is working hard to support the reduction of drug deaths in Scotland and I look forward to my continued engagement with the minister. I now call Sandish Gohani to be followed by Gillian Martin. Preventing problem drug use indeed requires a whole systems response across government and a public health approach to tackling a decade of Scottish Government failure is the right way forward. So long as—and this is important—this public health approach is complemented by cracking down on drug dealers and violent organised crime—that profit from the illicit and immoral trade in Scotland. Given that organised crime does not respect borders, surely it makes sense to join with an already established cross-border initiative with £59 million of investment that is already helping to tackle drug-dealing criminal networks. I am very interested to understand from the minister why, if the Scottish Government is so keen on tackling the harms of substance abuse, it is not co-operating with the rest of the UK on project ADDAR, which could be seen to have more funding directed to places such as Dundee, which does have a significant problem. I reassure him that we participate in the learning network for project ADDAR and that Police Scotland, as you would expect, co-operates with all law enforcement agencies across the UK. However, I am sure that he will appreciate that, where other approaches undermine a public health approach, we, of course, also have our red lines. Our response to drug abuse requires strong health interventions, but we also need to cut the head off the snake. We need a targeted criminal justice approach to better target drug supply chains. Given that Scotland's drug death rate is almost five times the rate seen down south and higher than any in Europe, we must make Scotland a significantly harder place for organised crime groups to operate. Before I move on to matters that are directly focused on treatment and rehabilitation, let me deal with the contentious issue of drug consumption rooms. We will not oppose the establishment of a pilot project. We can then gather evidence and use this in a Scottish setting, but let us not underestimate that this is legally complex and that there are legitimate concerns. If drug consumption rooms are the route that the Scottish Government is going to take, I am interested to know what is the criteria for location. Could people in possession of drugs travelling to a drug consumption room run the risk of arrest? Can we protect workers in those rooms from civil liability if a user experiences a medical problem or tragically dies? We will not oppose a pilot project, but, as Scotland's chief constable has said, we need to proceed with caution. I might add that this caution also applies to establishing licensed drug-checking facilities for people to anonymously submit samples of psychoactive drugs for testing. Given the rate of drug deaths currently running at something like one every seven hours, does the member not agree that we need to proceed with a degree of urgency rather than caution? However, while accepting those concerns, there are obvious and quite clear solutions to addressing all of them, and they have been well known for some years now. Dodger Gohani. We do need to be moving with urgency, but we must not move in the wrong direction, because that can be as bad as moving slowly. Alex Cole-Hamilton. I will be very brief. I am grateful for Dr Gohani. He says that we need to move forward with caution and not in the wrong direction. Does he accept that we are not pioneers in this? On the approaches that we are discussing here in terms of safe consumption, pill testing are actually used quite extensively internationally and have shown to save lives. Dodger Gohani. It is not clear that it will work in a Scottish setting. That is the point. We need to have a pilot to see how it works within separate different countries. Everybody who seeks treatment for addiction should be able to access the necessary addiction treatment that they require, with an obligation on NHS health boards, Scottish ministers and others to provide treatment and set up reporting arrangements so that the quality and access of treatment provided can be monitored and reported to the Scottish Parliament. That will ensure that individuals may access a preferred treatment option unless it is deemed harmful by a medical professional. A statutory right to addiction and recovery treatment services should include community-based, short and long-term rehabilitation, community-based and residential detox, stabilisation services and substitute prescribing services. Our right to recovery will also aim to prevent individuals seeking drug and alcohol treatment from being refused access. I am pleased that another plan outcome of changing lives is to establish a national approach to substance abuse and harm. That incorporates drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and we need to ensure that much fewer people develop problem drug use in Scotland. I am interested to see how that plan seeks to strengthen the evidence for how best to deter use of recreational drugs, ensure that adults change their behaviour or face tough consequences, and prevent young people starting to take drugs in the first place. Of course, as the Minister knows only fully well, delivery is everything. De facto decriminalisation of drugs does not seem to have worked as planned, as it has contributed to increased admissions to psychiatric hospitals since the introduction of the measure for class B and C drugs. The Scottish Government pledged to fully implement medication-assisted treatment on mat standards by April 22. Those define the consistent delivery of safe and accessible drug treatments and support and delivery has now been put back two years. Given the well-documented pressures on our NHS, including record staff vacancies, record A and E waiting times and GP practice at breaking point, I am keen to understand if the Scottish Government intends to deliver on the recommendations of the drug deaths task force, particularly calls to operate more drug services in the evenings and at weekends and provide emergency 24-7 care. In 2021, there were 1,330 drug deaths in Scotland—too many. We need a credible, strong and well-resourced plan to tackle this. This must amount to much more than just an announcement. The country needs a commitment from the Scottish Government to deliver. I declare interest as a practicing NHS GP. I was struck by a paragraph in the drug deaths task force report. I thought that it really challenged us all. It said that the biggest thing that needs to happen is culture change. For far too long, people who use drugs and their families have suffered the effects of discrimination and stigma in society in the media and in services. They have been demonised, criminalised and ignored, and shamefully discrimination is even enshrined in UK law, which actively discriminates against people with drug dependency in crucial areas of human rights. As politicians, we can all come into this chamber with our views on how to help people in Scotland at risk of death from drug use. I do not have any personal experience. I am always aware of that every time I speak in this topic. I do not have any professionally. I do not have any of my personal life. I am very lucky in that regard. In some exceptions, most of us who are speaking today are in that same position. We have not had to see our children struggle with addiction, wondering if they will ever become healthy again, living in a constant state of anxiety about what might happen to them. We ourselves have not experienced the damaging effects of a stigma attached to our health needs. That is why the commitment to working with those with lived experience in the Government's response to the drug's death task force is so absolutely vital. The work started in 2022 with the national collaborative and built on today in some of the comments from the minister to the recommendations is so important. The phrase, nothing about us without us, must apply to people who are affected with problem substance use. They simply have to be involved in the development of all our policies and strategies and treatment and support and addressing the wider factors that contribute to their life-threatening relationship with drugs and so must their families. If we leave them out or pay a lip service to them, the mission to end drug's deaths will simply fail. I was pleased to read that key acknowledgement in the short time that I had to look at the Government's response to the report when it said that people's experiences do not fit neatly into one policy area, and so our engagement and participation must take into account the vicious cycles of problem substance use, homelessness, lack of income, unsafe environments, lack of access to education and other basic services. Angela Constance cannot just do this herself in her portfolio. It is working with people across Government, across societies that only way we are going to tackle this. The vast majority of those with problem drug use tend to have suffered some kind or indeed many kinds of trauma. Many have had a life of poverty, many have suffered abuse or childhood insecurity, and no-one is standing up to speak to David that should ever ignore the root causes that have led someone down the path to problem drug use. We need to be treating the causes as well as the symptoms, because problem drug use is a health inequality. With that in mind, the issue of drug's death is a whole Government endeavour. It expands into portfolio's across Government, as I have said. We urgently need to tackle poverty and inequality to address all the health inequalities, but particularly it goes double for problem drug use, because thrown into the health and equality mix comes the justice element, which can compound the trauma, reduce the life chances even further and make recovery even harder and sometimes actually impossible. I was also pleased to see when I read the Government's response that women with multiple pregnancies who are not allowed to keep their babies was mentioned. I have said already in the chamber a few times that my daughter is a student midwife and I have really been quite shocked at how often she has come home from a shift in Aberdeen maternity hospital saying that she has cared for the young woman who is not able to keep her baby. Often for the second or the third time it is absolutely heartbreaking and I commend the Government's moves to have more family residential rehabilitation units. Although that is just one area of action that we need to take to help mothers to struggle with their substance use, there is a really complex situation in these multiple actions. I am encouraged by the amount of funding that the ministers announced today in supporting vulnerable parents and breaking that cycle. So, maybe one day some of those mothers with those interventions might one day be able to have a family of their own in recovery. We need to leave entrenched political ideology on drugs at the door and I think that is why I did get a little bit upset earlier on when we talked about keeping politics out of this because it does not help at all and I was really struck earlier in the week when Jackson Carlaw was talking in another debate about a time in this Parliament and I do not think I was here where we took health off the political football pitch. I thought it was a really strong point he made and I think we need to maybe make that commitment to do that with drugs policy as well and you stop the blame game and actually get together and, as Ms Constance has so often said, throw the kitchen sink at this. I also said last time I spoke in the subject that politicians in Scotland and the wider UK have been too wary of following other countries' radical approaches. Paul O'Kane mentioned that in his excellent speech and ignoring the fact that some of these have been very successful, as Alec Cole-Hamilton mentioned in his intervention there, if the work of the national collaborative in the discussions with those of lived experience comes up with radical approaches, we need to work cross-party and cross-government and be open to their suggestions. We need to turn our eyes away from right-wing commentators, tabloid editorials and Mr Angry of our growth writing in the letters pages to the times, because those people don't have the answers, those with lived experience and their families very likely do. Thank you. Thank you Ms Martin. I call Katie Clark to be followed by Siobhan Brown. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I welcome this debate and the work of the Scottish Drugs Deaths Task Force. We all know that Scotland consistently has the highest drugs deaths in Europe, and I think that we all appreciate that the drugs death crisis is complex and caused by a range of factors, including the types of drugs being used in Scotland and the high levels of poverty and deprivation, but we also have to be honest that Scotland faces similar challenges to many other countries and the response has been slow. Safe consumption facilities have been operating in many parts of Europe for around three decades and offer the opportunity to reduce the risk of disease and death. The evidence—I say this for the Conservative benches—is that they do not increase drug use, nor do they increase the frequency of injecting. On 3 November 2021, the Lord Advocate provided evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee in which she noted that any proposals for a drugs consumption facility would require to be precise, detailed and specific, underpinned by evidence and supported from those who would be responsible for policing such a facility, in particular Police Scotland. The Crown Agent wrote to the Criminal Justice Committee this week and said that a pilot presents significant operational challenges in relation to policing any facility, no doubt made more difficult by the lack of a clear legal framework. Prosecutors continue to work closely with the police to ensure that there is a clear plan for policing an approach to such an affiliate facility that has been recent and ongoing correspondence with the Chief Constable of Scotland in relation to outstanding issues that are required to be considered. I know that the Minister advised the cross-committee committee that she was still awaiting advice from the Lord Advocate on the legality of such facilities. I would be grateful if she could provide the chamber with an update on whether advice has been obtained and what the timescales are for progress on this issue. I will take an intervention from the convener. I was not intending to do so, but I am aware of the letter that the member refers to. It comes 14 months after the Lord Advocate gave evidence to the committee about a pilot drugs consumption room. I find it slightly concerning that the letter specifically states that there is no timeframe as to when this information might be made available. I know that the member cannot answer that particular question, but I would be very grateful if the cabinet secretary could do so on that. I thank the member for that helpful intervention. The reason that I raised the issue is to make the point that the progress that we are making is too slow. I know that the minister has been awaiting the advice and I appreciate that she has probably been pushing for the advice, but we have to say that we need to see action. In 2020, the First Minister said that it was her Government's responsibility to deal with this crisis and that she would not shy away from that, but despite the fact that we declared a public health emergency three and a half years ago, there have been a further minimum of 11,500 deaths and 26,000 drug-related hospital admissions. As a member of the criminal justice committee, I would like to focus on the justice section of the Government's response. Like others, I have not had much opportunity to consider the full document, but what it would be fair to say is that the approach outlined in the response is quite different from many current practices within the justice system, and I know that the minister has worked in the justice system and will have first-hand knowledge of that. The drug abuse situation in prisons is endemic, and we know that many people who were not drug users before they went into prison are introduced to drugs in prison. The task force recommendation is that, as part of the recommendations, the Scottish Government should make key changes to fully integrate a person-centred trauma-informed public health approach to drug use in the justice system. I support that approach, and I support what the Government is saying in its response. However, I am not clear how that relates to the justice legislation that is currently being put forward to this Parliament. We know that Scotland has the highest jail population in Scotland and the highest numbers of people on remand. Those in the prisons who are on remand are now approaching about almost 30 per cent of the prison population. It is far from clear what the public safety test in the bail bill that is currently being considered will be, and it is far from clear that it will result in what the report is asking for, which is that bail should be available and that remand should only be used as a last resort. I very much welcome the very worthy ambitions in this response, but we are facing massive challenges. The justice budget is facing real-terms cuts. Many of the recommendations in the report will require significant resources. I look forward to the minister. I welcome what is in the report, but we have a lot more work that we need to do. 1,330 people in Scotland lost their lives to drugs in 2021, and each death, as we know, is a tragedy. I echo the statement from my colleagues that the number of drug deaths in Scotland is simply unacceptable. We are all in no doubt that our drug death crisis is a public health emergency. We are, however, studying to see some positive progress as we tackle this public health emergency. Police Scotland data shows that, over the 12 months to September 2022, there were 21 per cent fewer drug deaths than the previous 12 months to September 2021. I do think that it is important for us to recognise that, although there has been a reduction, there is still a lot more work to be done. The first core principle of the task force report is the most important. Drug deaths are preventable, and we must act now. It is everybody's responsibility to take action. Today, the minister has outlined that the cross-government response to the report has so far resulted in over 80 actions to drive forward our national mission. Like other colleagues' contributions today, I would like to focus specifically that we can tackle drug deaths by ending the stigma and taking a public health approach. In 2005, the World Health Organization dubbed Glasgow the murder capital of Europe. There had been 83 murders the previous year in Glasgow where gangs were known for crime culture. Police in Glasgow decided to rethink strategy and set up the violence reduction unit, guided by the philosophy that violence is a public health issue. Violent behaviour spreads from person to person and, to contain it, you need to think in terms of transmission, risk and symptoms and causes. Due to the public health approach, there was a dramatic reduction in crime. Glasgow, once known as the murder capital of Europe, became a model that other countries could follow to cut crime. It worked there, and I fully believe that the public health approach can work for drug deaths too, and I am really pleased to hear that the Scottish Government shares this view. We can often get too bogged down in stats and evidence. These are, of course, really important, but we run a risk of taking the humanity out of this problem. By taking a people-centred approach, we can get to the root causes of addiction and help to support those who are addicted. After all, it is important to remember that no one makes the active choice to have a drug addiction. As always, Minister Angela Constance has been very honest about the monumental task and the amount of work that is required. I would, however, welcome more powers being handed to her and this Parliament to take more further radical action. After all, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh notes that bold action is required to take this, and they support the decriminalisation of possession of drugs and safe drug consumption facilities, but we know that the criminal justice sanctions for drugs is a policy area reserved to Westminster. Without control for that, we cannot possibly take the all-encompassing public health approach. However, we are where we are, and we will do what we can with our limited powers. I am pleased to see that the Scottish Government has increased investment to £160 million in its budget to reduce the avoidable harms associated with drugs and alcohol. That is much needed and will help to address the many complex factors that come into play. As we know, there are many studies. Drug deaths are closely related to deprivation and austerity. Research published by Glasgow University in the Glasgow Centre for Population Health suggests that people across the UK are dying younger as a result of UK Government austerity. Their impact is seen as twofold, reducing levels of important services such as addictions, housing, mental health, welfare rights and so on, and cutting individual's income by reductions of social security payments, leading to further drug use as a coping mechanism or escapism from the grim austerity reality. Furthermore, research shows an association between cuts to disability relating to social security payments and increased drug deaths across all local authorities in Great Britain. The Scottish Drugs Forum says that today's drugs use in Scotland is linked to the de-industrialisation and economic impact of the 1980s. The reason I mentioned this is that our national conversation on drug deaths is all too often warped and misguided. You'll hear that people say that people have made their own choices and they get what they deserve. Not only is this completely wrong, it's also inhumane. That's why it's so important that we make tackling the stigma around drug use a priority. In my air constituency a new support organisation, Harbour Ayrshire, has been set up by local businesses and is already doing fantastic work in helping people with addiction issues. They focus on prehab, rehab and aftercare to empower people who suffer from addiction issues to become independent, get involved in their local communities and also provide employment opportunities through local businesses. Let me end my contribution to this debate with a moment that really touched me personally several years ago. As a councillor at the time, I was listening to an inspirational man who'd managed to break his addiction from drugs and become clean. He used this analogy, which was always stuck with me. If you come across a dying, withering plant in the corner of a room, do you go over and tell it to get its act together and ignore it? No. Most would water it, nurture it and give it what it needs to grow and flourish. That's what the approach the Scottish Government needs to take and it's the approach that we all need to take. We need to stop stigmatising people with addiction issues as Scotland's shame. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd like to put on record my thanks to all those who contributed to the Scottish Drugs Deaths Task Force report, task force members and the Minister for Advanced Site of the Government's response. The report from the Scottish Drug Deaths Task Force is wide ranging and comprehensive, but I wanted to focus on a couple of key recommendations. Recommendation 4 regarding a no-wrong-door and holistic support approach is key in ensuring that people receive support and treatment when and where they need it. This support has to cover all services to capture the points where those with an addiction engage in services. We also have to be aware that this initial contact may not come through health services and that the service providers in settings such as housing also need the correct training and guidance to support those with an addiction properly. This training also has to be trauma informed. Many dealing with an addiction are also dealing with trauma, other mental health issues and other health issues and we need to ensure that any training provided to those delivering services take account of the person's entire circumstances. We know stigma and poor experience with services may stop people from continuing to engage with services and where that engagement breaks down may stop people from seeking help again in the future. There are a large number of strategies pointed to in the cross-Government response to the task force report to address this specific recommendation. I believe that that is good in ensuring that there are specialist support services available to those who need them. However, with so many individual initiatives, the potential for some people to find their situation spread across multiple initiatives and we know that that can lead to some people falling between the gaps. I would be keen to know either in summing up or now if the minister wishes to make an intervention if she believes that we have enough of a balance of strategies to ensure that people on the whole cannot fall through those gaps between services. Action on all of the recommendations need to be closely linked but I believe that recommendation 4 on the no wrong door approach and recommendation 10 on the national stigma action plan need to be in sync if we are going to tackle some of the reasons people do not seek help. I know that the minister and many across the chamber recognise the impact that stigma can have and I was pleased to see that work is under way to address that with the stigma charter. As ever, we need to continue to be responsible with language and ensure that we are not using stigmatising language and to challenge wherever it is used. We know that for many, recovery is lifelong, challenging and not always a linear path. I have had the privilege to speak to many in recovery and I think that currently there is a piece of the recovery journey that we are not talking about enough in terms of keeping people well once they have completed treatment with acute services. I visited a Lanarkshire recovery community and a young woman spoke to me about how having stopped using drugs she had to rebuild her life. Often we think about the structural things that people need such as housing and income but she told me about the impact of not having hobbies or not even knowing what food she liked and disliked had on her and the journey she has had to discover those. She told me about how when going for job interviews and being asked questions that I am sure we have all had like so what do you do in your spare time, they were hugely daunting for her. She believed that society expected you to have that all figured out by the time you are an adult and that for those without already established family or friends support mechanisms providing access to courses or groups could help find out some of those things about themselves as well as connecting them to their communities. Since then I have heard this from other people in recovery too and I wanted to thank them for their open and honest reflections. Some told me that even with strong community links they felt a sense of embarrassment in not knowing what they liked and disliked. That is another type of stigma that we need to tackle and I would be grateful if the minister either in closing or after the debate had any examples of where some of this work might already be happening and how we can share some good practice to ensure that we can continue to keep people well once they have completed the acute period of their recovery. People deserve a rich and full life regardless of their journey and once someone has gone through the trauma, poverty or deprivation that has led to their addiction, endured addiction, the stigma and turbulence that that causes in their lives and then sought help and come through rehabilitation the least they deserve is a fulfilling and full life with all the things we take for granted and I hope that we can find ways to support this going forward. There are many other issues raised in the report and in briefings we have had such as reform of UK drug law which we fully support. I have said many times before the misuse of drugs act is out of date and now hindering some of the good work that is being done. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has referenced decriminalisation and as a party we support that and have previously welcomed the decision of diversion from prosecution from the Lord Advocate. I think broadly across the chamber we recognise that while there is a part to play for the justice system in terms of supporting prisoners that we need a public health approach to what is a public health emergency. I would like to conclude by again thanking all those involved in the task force, all those who have shared their lived experience and all those who are working hard in services across the country who are implementing those changes and making a difference. It is with mixed emotion that the Scottish Parliament debates this shocking and challenging subject once more. It represents such a horrible life experience for far too many families and wreaks havoc on too many communities around the country. Previously, as a teacher, it was not unusual for me to come into contact with children whose families were affected by drug addiction, a huge burden for a child and for their struggling parents and carers. There was an understandable reluctance to ask for help with the addiction for fear of the children being separated from their parents. In these circumstances, the roles of schools in providing a stable and nurturing environment for the child while the family receives holistic and individualised support cannot be overstated. It undoubtedly contributes to positive long-term outcomes. So I welcome the opening last November of Harper House in Sulcoates, where parents can be treated for addiction without being separated from their children. Harper House accepts referrals from right across Scotland and I hope that more family-orientated rehabilitation centres like this can be funded across the country. There is a great need for this inclusive and non-judgmental approach to recovery. Today's debate is an opportunity to focus on the urgent and challenging actions called for by the drug-death task force. Quite rightly, the final report demands that Scottish Government focuss on what can be done within devolved powers. In the light of that, I welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to providing additional £50 million of funding each year in this parliamentary session to deliver a significant reduction in deaths and harms. The task force called for Scotland to develop the most extensive naloxone network anywhere in the world. In 2021-22, the number of take-home naloxone kits issued was just under 30,000, an increase of 29 per cent on the previous year. Nearly 65 per cent of people at risk of an opioid overdose dose have been issued with a kit, a welcome expansion of the network. I do believe that this Government is committed to embedding the public health approach at all stages, including through the criminal justice system. As the task force's final report so powerfully declares, addiction is not a crime and you cannot punish people out of addiction. As mentioned by some of my colleagues across the chamber, there are different international approaches to public health that I recognise cannot be implanted into a different country, but they are worth noting. I refer to the fact that it is over 20 years since Portugal decriminalised the public and private use and possession of drugs, marking a radical departure from a criminal-based approach to drug use to a public health-based one. From having one of the highest drug tallies in Europe, they now have one of the lowest. Decriminalisation of possession of drugs led to a halving of a problem of drug use and a huge reduction in petty crime, freeing up law enforcement to tackle other crimes. I will keep this brief and thank you for the intervention, but the architect of that same programme said that it was not the decriminalisation alone that was the solution, it was only half of the solution. The other half was about putting front-line services in support to those people that it diverted from prosecution. I thank Jamie Greene for that intervention, and that is a valid point. I am not saying that decriminalisation is in and answer to itself, and I have outlined the fact that this Government is wanting to do the other half of his point that he mentioned. It does not mean that there is no police intervention when an individual is found to be in possession of drugs, but it does mean a different response. If the person has less than the legal limit for individual possession, they are required to report within three days to the commission for dissuasion of drug addiction, and they are interviewed and evaluated by a team of health professionals who assess whether they are in need of treatment. Every individual is then invited to attend a treatment facility and 80 per cent of people accept referral, including those who are not problematic users, as well as providing access to high-quality treatment and recovery options. There is also access to psychologists or counsellors to discuss their drug use. The massive transfer of focus from punishment to access of treatment has been highly successful in reducing drug deaths and petty crime. In conclusion, we must acknowledge that a key underlying factor for drug deaths in Scotland is poverty. In 2021, people in Scotland's most deprived areas were 15 times as likely to have a drug-related death as to those in the least deprived areas. Tackling poverty is a key priority for the Scottish Government, and I urge them to continue to fund benefits such as the Scottish child payment and other essential anti-poverty measures. The inequality that stokes are appalling drug statistics must be undone if we want to see a dramatic reduction in drug deaths and of misuse and an increase of hope and wellbeing in communities where that is currently sadly lacking. We are addressing an area of national shame. Scotland's drug death epidemic is out of control and we are in need of urgent leadership in order to stop the surge of preventable deaths. As my colleague Sue Weber pointed out, this is an issue in Scotland bigger than other parts of the United Kingdom, having a rate of 245 drug deaths per million people, whilst England has 50 and Wales has a rate of 47 deaths. I thank the member for giving way. Just to clarify the language that the member has used in saying that our drug harm issue is out of control, is he aware that the last set of statistics on drug-related deaths showed, albeit a small but a decrease in the numbers, and I am absolutely not playing down this issue. The number of people who sadly died is totally unacceptable. However, there had been progress, but as a number of members have pointed out in Mr Bates already, one death is too many, and we need to look at it from that perspective. This is not a new problem, either. We have known that we need a response to legal drugs for many years. We have seen a lack of intervention over a number of years, and we are now reaping that consequence. We need to make a dramatic change in our approach if we are to do anything about this and try to deal with this unthinkable death toll. There is no silver bullet to deal with this drugs crisis. No-one does for subject any justice by pretending that one single policy can fix an issue as complex as this. Instead, it will be different implementation on a number of different initiatives that will act as pieces of a wider puzzle. One such measure is to ensure that those on the front lines of this battle have the tools that they require. Naxalone is one such tool. The ability to mitigate the effects of an open overdose for a short period can be the difference between life and death. Take Home Naxalone kits help to treat an estimated 1,377 overdoses between 2020 and 2021. In many cases, saving lives for otherwise would have been lost. Far more can and should be done to get life-saving naxalone into the hands of those who need them. A third of people who are deemed to be at risk of an overdose do not have access to it. We need to significantly broaden the circle of organisations and institutions that can distribute it such as police, homeless charities, social workers and facilitate them to reach as many addicts as possible. I would be interested if the minister has any proposals to roll that out further across Scotland. That would seem to be an easy and effective way that we can make a real difference. Consumption rooms have been floated as a possible measure to address drug deaths, to give those who struggle with addictions a safe place to consume drugs with supervision. I have to say on a personal view that I have major reservations about that proposal. There are a number of logistical and legal considerations that must be made such as whether it is a crime to possess drugs while travelling to a consumption room and the liability of the Government in the awful event of someone dying at one of these sites. If, as my colleagues have suggested, we are going to trial this, we need to make sure that it works within a strutters context and any data that is collected is fully analysed before taking any further steps. I want to make it clear that helping those who struggle with addiction is only half the problem. Illegal drug use has to be tackled right at the root of a problem that says supply. Those who traffic in drugs are profiting directly from the trading of substances that only ruin people's lives but also, so sadly, often end them. We must do everything that we can to stop this immoral trade and I support any measure that will bring those criminals to justice. Every tool at our disposal should be utilised to find avenues through which drugs that can come into our country should be blocked and stopped. This is not going to happen on its own. Governments have to be protective to plug those holes. I have to say that I am disappointed that the Scottish Government has refused to sign up to the UK Government scheme to help to tackle drug dealing and organised crime projects out there. I know what the minister said in response to my colleague in intervention, but I would ask the Government to think again. The scheme has been very successful so far, so it is hard to see the logic of why we would not want to take part in it, especially considering that the project has helped to see 27 million Benjo tablets that were designed for our own country. Imagine the incredible difference that could be made for the people of Scotland if there was full co-operation between both Governments on this issue. The long and short of it is that something has to change. We cannot allow the trend that has seen over a number of years to continue with lives that needlessly been lost and families being torn apart. There are measures that can be taken, and I would implore the Government to get a grip of the crisis. We do not need warm words, we need action, we need leadership. It is not a matter of just telling everyone that we would like to do it, it is rolling up our sleeves and getting the job done. I hope that we can all be involved in that process across each party. Scotland's drug death crisis is the most important and pressing issue facing this country today. As I have said before, and I will say again that it is a crisis that we cannot shy away from, and the action that we take to tackle it must be bold, it must be radical, but, most importantly, it must be swift. That action will take many forms. The roll-out of the max standards and ensuring access to treatment and rehab is available to everyone and anyone who needs it overhauling a criminal justice system that criminalises and warehouses vulnerable people in Victorian prisons to the roll-out of overdose prevention centres. There is no one silver bullet, and I acknowledge and applaud the Government's recognition of that simple fact and one that has been shared across the chamber this afternoon. It is against that backdrop that I turn to the Drug Death Task Force and its report, and there is a lot to be welcomed in that report, particularly its emphasis on the treatment of drug deaths crisis as a public health issue and tackling the scourge of stigma faced by those battling addiction and for the report's unequivocal backing of overdose prevention centres. It is filled with recommendations, many of which we have seen before, and that simple fact goes to the very heart of the issue. You can have all the reports in the world with the best recommendations possible, but if there is a failure to implement them, then it is a waste of time. Take over those prevention centres as an example and as a litmus test. We have been talking about those for almost a decade now, and we are generally all in agreement as to their efficacy, but we are still waiting for so much as a pilot to be initiated. There is not some fanciful idea that is way out with scope of the Government to implement. Indeed, the task force chair himself has said in a quote, we believe that safer drug consumption facilities can be implemented now under the current legislation. Why the hold-up minister? I understand a proposal for a pilot in Glasgow was submitted to the law advocate over six months ago, yet here we are no further forward, no mention in the minister's opening speech this afternoon. The Crown Office and Procurative Fiscal Service is saying simply that it is too complex to do as a myriad of issues. The chief constable is not up for it. That is such a shame. We do not have our time frame yet. I am afraid that the minister is just not good enough. It is a disgrace when we have people dying, and it is a disgrace when we have seen the efficacy of this in Glasgow through the unofficial pilot run by Peter Craig. Eight lives have been saved. What more of a context do we need? Let us bang these heads together and get it sorted if it needs to be the first minister, so be it. Over those prevention centres, they are far from the only area where the Government's actions have not aligned with the expectations set. Let us look at those max standards. The minister came to the chamber back in the autumn to inform us that the Government's implementation of the max standards 1 to 5 by April last year failed miserably, with just 17 per cent of those standards 1 to 5 being fully implemented. Just one of the ADPs fully implementing max standards 1 by the agreed time, and it does not stop there. The task force report talks about the importance of implementing all 10 max standards by May 2024, yet the Government's own target for full implementation of those 10 is not until 2025, and no further forward on the commitment two years ago from the First Minister herself on the widespread roll-out of diamorphine or heroin-assisted treatment still, basically statistically irrelevant in the front to tackle Scotland's drug death emergency. It talks about funding fit for a public health emergency, yet we know that the budgets of local authorities, who are largely responsible for the delivery of many of these services relating to drug death prevention, have been decimated and continue to be cut every financial year. The report is full of welcome recommendations, but we have seen it all before, and frankly, actions speak louder than words. Before I wrap up, I would like to make a more general point, which is that, unfortunately, a vacuum has been created when it comes to drug policy, and that is deeply concerning. In the past year, we have seen proposals for legislation from open gestion members, but nothing whatsoever from the Government itself. I do not say that to score points. I do not say it to grandstand, and I certainly do not say it to cry the work, laudable work being done by the Minister. I simply say it because it is emblematic of a structural inertia that seems to exist directly at the heart of government, despite the efforts of the Minister to turn it around. It has been said to me before that, if this were any other group of people, this crisis would have been fixed a long time ago. Whilst I do not want to believe that to be the case, it is an unfortunate and observable reality that the longer that drags on and the more time we waste, the more difficult it becomes to dispute it that simply certain people in certain positions of power in this country just do not think that it is worth the hassle. I do not envy the scale of the task that the Minister has in front of her. Scotland's drug death crisis has existed for a long time before she was responsible for this portfolio, but my worry is that, based on the current trajectory, flatlining is still at a sky-high rate relative to any other comparable country and jurisdiction, despite the effort that she is making, it will exist long after she ceases responsibility for it and for that is a national tragedy. Thank you very much indeed, Presiding Officer. It is always very difficult following Paul Sweeney in a debate like this, because I think among all of us, Paul has the most visceral real-life experience of helping to stabilise and sometimes save people in the very worst strains of addiction. I congratulate him for that and recognise his work in that regard. I welcome the commitment that is made by the minister in regard to the report, and in particular her remarks on stabilisation services. She and I have, I would not say crossed swords on stabilisation, but I have raised it with her several times and it is gratifying to hear that it is now a primary focus for the Government, because I think that stabilisation services, if I may say so, Presiding Officer, have been something of the Cinderella service in terms of drugs provision in this country. I am also gratified to hear her talk about rurality. Again, I have raised same-day services several times before, but in particular the comments that I think in the report, the actions in the report and the focus of the Government on families affected by parental substance use. Let us remember that if you are born into a family with parental substance use as prevalent, then you are from day one suffering an adverse childhood experience. We know that adverse childhood experiences are in large part caused to much of the addiction in our community, so we can break that cycle if we can offer comprehensive and holistic support to the families that suffer it. We heard, I think, of an excellent example from Corkab Stewart in her constituency of a service that is open to do exactly that. The report is comprehensive and it needs to be, because it is not just about what you ingest or what you put into your arm. It is about the other factors that follow you around your life. It is about your access to housing, your access to training, your routes into the employment market. Oftentimes, we can stabilise people and go back into communities where they have toxic relationships and toxic triggers, which restart that cycle again. If we can help them out of that through a level of social mobility, then we will have succeeded. I wanted to support Sue Webber's amendment. There is much of it that Liberal Democrats agree with, but I think that there is an aspect of the amendment that asks us to sign up to the right to recovery bill right now. We are moving forward with that in an atmosphere of good faith, but we cannot write blank checks on it, because I have picked up today's in some of the remarks in the Conservative benches. I will take an intervention. We heard from across the chamber about listening to the voices of lived experience, and if you have read the Holyrood magazine this month's edition, you will realise that the author and those who have worked with us on developing that report favour has been nothing short of being someone who has such lived experience. Surely, you must understand the value of signing up to that bill. I make no prejudicial remarks about where we will end up on that bill. I told Douglas Ross that we will move forward in good faith, but at the same time I think that there are fundamental areas of disagreement about our approach to drugs policy, and we have heard some of that in respect of safe consumption rooms, pill checking and the rest of it. While they are outside of the scope of the bill, it suggests that there may be elements of discord that might come forward, but I hope not, and I make no prediction about that. Paula Cain is right to put briefed loved ones at the very heart of his remarks that we should all do that, because let's not forget the torment that they face. That torment has been increased sometimes by action of this chamber. MSP colleagues will remember their post bags being filled by the families of loved ones who succumbed to addiction or to overdose, who were waiting months if not years for a toxicology report to give them some closure on the circumstances of their loved ones passing. That was a direct result of political decisions that led to cutbacks in that service. That is the unintended consequence of some of the actions that we participate in. Today, in particular, I am thinking of the parents of a daughter who was killed in my constituency in terms of the October 31 event that took place at Terminal V at the Royal High and Center in Ingolston. She died after taking harmful substances that she ingested for pleasure. She took them before she arrived there because she knew that there was a zero-tolerance approach on site. I met with Terminal V after the fight. They have one of the safest facilities in the world. They have security, they have state-of-the-art healthcare facilities, but it could do nothing for her because she has ingested it before she got to the venue, knowing that they had a zero-tolerance. If they had a pill-checking facility there, she might not have taken it before she went there and had it checked. It might have given her that lifeline. The effect of that is that testing facilities are already offered in festivals in England and Wales. A three-year research project conducted by Liverpool University and Charity The Loop found that, in 15 per cent of cases, the substance of drugs were not what the person who bought them expected them to be in pill-checking facilities. Two thirds of festival goers would dispose of their drugs if they knew that they were unsure about the substance. At festivals where drug testing facilities were in place, no-one died. That works. That is another example of an item that works. I come back to my intervention of Dr Gilhane. He is anxious that we do not rush into solutions, but we have to rush into solutions because the emergency is here and the emergency is at our door. It is not a case that it might not work for Scotland. We are not pioneers in things such as safe consumption rooms. They have been working effectively and saving lives effectively in countries across Europe for years. What is good and what is sourced for the goose is sourced for the gander. We need them in Scotland right now. I would like to conclude by paying tribute to some excellent speeches in the debate. Emma Harper was quite right to talk about stigma. I think that stigma is a massive barrier that we face in actually getting people into treatment and changing the attitude of society to all of that. I will close on that, but I assure the support of the Government to today's motion. I am happy to add my thanks and thanks to Scottish Labour to those involved in preparing the response to the drug death task force final report. Today, for the same reasons that Cole-Hamilton has to abstain on the Tory amendment, we need to see that published bill before we can add our support to it. We are happy to support the Liberal Democrat amendment that is set out so eloquently by Cole-Hamilton. We will support the Government's motion today, because I think that we want to try to maintain some level of unanimity around the general approach, which I think that there is broad support on. I have to say that reading the response today, I am deeply underwhelmed. That report was another opportunity to signal a step change in approach around pace. If there is a real consensus in Parliament out of this debate today, I believe that that is it, that we must increase that pace of change. We know that the drug deaths in Scotland are the second worst that we have had on record. On the current rate of change, it will be decades and decades, and tens of thousands of lives will be lost to further drugs deaths if we continue on the path that we are on at the moment. I would gently say to some members on the SNP benches that the suggestion that this is not grotesqually out of control must be immediately dismissed from their minds, because it is grotesqually out of control. I thank the member for taking out an intervention. I do not think for one second that any of my colleagues in those benches underestimate the challenge ahead, but one thing, if I may, that I would put to the member is in relation to the UK Government's white paper that they have released or they are consulting on. It focuses on demand, possession and use, and takes a continued justice approach. Would the member agree that, in terms of use and possession, that a public health approach that this Government is attempting to take is much more appropriate? I thank the member for the intervention. I think that there is clear unanimity from those benches at least that we are in absolute support and have been for a long time around a public health support in this area. I would say that Paul O'Kane has pointed out that it is three and a half years since the declaration of a public health emergency, two years since the declaration of a national mission. We have no implementation of MAT standards properly. We were told by the First Minister that they would be rapidly implemented. We have to recognise that it is far from rapid what is happening. We have no drug-checking facilities as highlighted, no overdose protection pilot, no workforce plan and the same day prescribing available in only one ADP across Scotland. The minister asked for recognition of funding that has been brought forward. The public audit committee is quite clear to Parliament that we do not have a proper account of the scale of the challenge to measure whether that funding is appropriate, but the drugs death task force that we are responding to today called the funding that is available to alcohol and drug services is woeful, woeful, not mine. We have to be clear that more needs to be done in resourcing as well. We require further information on mental health and substance misuse and the interaction of those two services. I highlighted in my intervention to the minister what is the report on NHS Tayside. I hope that the minister would support a statement from the Government on that particular report. It is absolutely critical that Scottish Labour has called for one today. I would like to see the mental health and public health ministers in front of Parliament answering questions. After all, this was a report that this Parliament called for in the end. The ministers commissioned it, so let's hear from ministers in response to it. I had great sympathy and an outstanding speech in my belief from Emma Harper and from Alex Cole-Hamilton in the area about access, same-day access to services in rural areas, something that I have highlighted in the chamber myself on an occasion but not nearly as eloquently. We have to set that against a full retraction of services in villages and small towns of health services. That is the context that many rural communities operate in. Jamie Greene contrasted that with the request of focus on areas of acute problems. I highlight the issues in Dundee. More than anything else, as much as funding and the focus of resources is important of that, the pace of change, making change happen, frankly in Dundee seems to me to be the single biggest problem about changing the kind of services that we need, and that requires absolute leadership. If we can close on another note of what I believe there should be and there is real consensus on and this is emerging around the chamber in the debate today, the lack of any real detail on a consumption room pilot. We need to see that proposal from the minister. Katie Clark talked about it. Russell Finlay highlighted it in his brief contribution. Paul Sweeney, as ever talked eloquently about the need and the demand for it. I believe that Parliament today is demanding that from the minister. If we can have in our concluding remarks, is a proposal on your desk, minister? Is it sat on your desk, and when will it be published? I thank all members for their contributions, constructive and considered. I can also start by passing the condolences of those benches to anyone who is watching this debate, who has been affected by the issue of drugs and anyone in their families who has passed away from it. I think that it is something that does touch all aspects of life. Anyone of us, even those in public life, have close experiences of devastating effects that substance abuse has on them personally, but also the unseen victims of that addiction, our friends, our partners, our families and those around us. I commend many of the contributions that have been made today, such as those by Siobhan Brown, Gillian Mackay and Cuckab Stewart. Amongst others, for sharing personal experiences and anecdotes of what is happening in their communities and the devastating effects that drugs are having in those communities, but also some of the very good work that is happening. I point to the work that is happening in Solcoats and other parts of Lanarkshire and elsewhere. I welcome that, as one member mentioned, progress has been made in the last calendar year on reduction in Scotland's drug deaths, but it is a small reduction. It remains our national shame, in my view. Alongside something that I have spoken about in great detail, our national shame about our problematic relationship with alcohol and other substances. Having read the motion today and the various amendments to it, I think that we have approached this debate in the tone that it merits. Of course, there are some argybargy over the semantics of voting and amendments and how you amend. I would say that we will support the Government in the premise of its motion today. We have one or two issues with the Liberal Democrat amendment, but only in the sense that we, as the Justice Committee of which I am a member, have not had a chance to look at the repercussions of what the member suggests. If that amendment passed, we would not, unfortunately, be able to vote for the wider motion. However, all that amending and voting and talking is one thing—that is procedural stuff. We are very good at talking. It is the doing that matters. Sue Webber was absolutely right in her opening comments to point out that, as the report itself makes clear, drug deaths are preventable, but that requires action and action require resource. There is a role for all of us to do in this. Gillian Martin pointed that out. It is not just a Government problem, it is an everyone problem, but the difference is that none of us in opposition can legislate easily in the way that the Government can. I know that because my colleague Douglas Ross has gone through a very lengthy process, which is why we have not produced the bill yet. I know that Mr Sweeney is doing the same with his own bill and an issue that he believes strongly in. I know that as someone who already has a member's bill in the system. Those things take a lot of time and they often end in failure, I am afraid, to say, such as the nature of the process. The reality is that the Government and its ministers, and its directorates, public bodies and public agencies can act far more quickly and far more easily than any of us in this room can. That is why the example that Paul O'Kane set about in reclied, for example, or Mike Marra in his examples of Dundee, is that real action, taken quickly at pace, can make a difference. If you treat the addiction, you can prevent the death, and that is an important message that I want to mention today. The task force, in my opinion, overall is a step in the right direction. It is by its very nature and acceptance by Government and acknowledgement that this is indeed a crisis and it needs urgent and focused action. However, the one thing that I took away from the brief reading of the report that I had, given that it only came out yesterday unhelpfully, is that you cannot fight addiction on your own. That has to be something that we consider when we look at what the Government is or is not doing. That individual help must come in a form that, in my view, is timely, it is appropriate to the individual, it is well resourced and, in my view, it is unending for as long as you need it. The Government has rightly taken an absolute battering in this chamber over its historic failures, but it is never too late to turn that around. It is never wrong to say sorry as a Government. It is not easy to do and I appreciate the minister and the work that she is doing around this, but it still remains the case that too many people are being let down. I would say to Gillian Martin that this is not a blame game, certainly not from my position here. That is not my style, but what it is about is responsibility and accountability, and that is the job of Opposition members in this place to hold the Government to account. I want to talk a little bit about the justice interactions, as Katie Clark also did, because it is an area of this conversation that I have a great interest in. The realities that our drug death epidemic reaches far into our justice sector in a whole wide range of areas. Yes, we have talked a little bit about prisons. I think that the word endemic was used, drugs in our prisons. 41 per cent of prisoners who enter custody in Scotland do so having had problematic drug use before they enter custody. I understand that there is a very real interaction between substance abuse and the criminal justice system. It would be naive to think otherwise, but the reality is that drug deaths in our prisons are risen sharply. There were nine sad drug deaths in 2020 that rose to 15 in 2021, and the figures out more recently paint a worrying picture of 2022. That is a trend that is on the way up while the rest of the country may be on the way down. It is not just the case of preventing drugs from getting into prisons. It is about the underlying reasons about why prisons are taking drugs in prisons in the first place. Is it a lack of meaningful activity? Is it coercion? Is it simply the conditions that they are in? We have talked about Victorian conditions. HMP Grunoch is a perfect example of that. It is disgraceful, but it is horrifying and inconceivable that you can go into custody without a drug problem and leave one with a drug problem. How can that happen in modern-day Scotland? The issue around criminal organised gangs using the system—I went to a visit to HMP Edinburgh and the inmate that I was chatting to in private told me how easy it was to get drugs in prison. He said, give me five minutes and I will come back with some drugs. That is worrying to me, not just as an MSP, but as a member of society those individuals are coming out of prison for a problem that is worse than the one that they went in with. That surely has to be a matter of importance. The wider issues around diversion and prosecution—I have not really got a lot of time to go into—let us look at the data on that. I would like the Government to produce quantitative data that looks at the decisions that it makes around diversion and how that relates to consumption, use in the wider populace and the re-offending rates. I do not have that data and I wish I did if we had that data. Maybe we could have a proper debate about it. That is on any class of drugs and any decisions that the Lord Advocate takes. I will not rehearse arguments that are made about consumption rooms, but what I would say on consumption rooms is that no one on those benches can either make it happen or stop it happening. That lies in the centre benches. I will close by saying that there is no monopoly on ideas on this. We will have to work together, but we must also learn lessons. The lesson that we can all learn from today's debate is that politics, on all sides, perversely sometimes does the opposite of what it is meant to do, and that is to do good. It will get in the way unless we do what is required of all of us, and that is to agree where it is appropriate and disagree where it is necessary. I think that today's debate has reflected that well. I thank each and every member who has participated in today's debate. Even if it never always seems like it, I always appreciate and reflect on the contributions that are made by members, the causes that they champion and the casework that they often bring to my attention. I also notice that many members today, and it is something that I always seek to practise, have attempted to turn down the volume a wee bit on the politics, but I accept that, although we can depoliticise the issue a bit, that that does not remove the need for clear accountability and leadership. I have always sought to practise what I preach and the scrutiny that I subject others to is exactly the same scrutiny that I am open to myself. Of course, it is fair to say that there is more that unites us than divides us, and I appreciate members' almost unanimous support for the detail of the recommendations and the actions within our plan, which, of course, are evidence-based and very often based on international evidence, because Alex Cole-Hamilton is right that we are not pioneers on our own with a lot of this. I want to once again reiterate my thanks to everyone past and present who has served on the task force, and I do want to put in record my thanks to drug policy officials and other colleagues across Government too. I have always made every effort, and it comes in part from having a period of time outwith Government. I think that it is called a period of reflection just to be pretty direct and plain speaking. I have never emerged from describing the scale of the challenge, acknowledging the pain and the heartache, or indeed my frustration and anger at the pace and progress. A number of times last year, most recently in December, I have been very straight with Parliament about issues in and around maths standards. I will not repeat that statement, but members will be aware of the unprecedented action, both in terms of scrutiny and support, and support that is both financial and practical. Of course, on the issue of maths standards and indeed the issue of this action plan, I will indeed continue to return to Parliament on a six-monthly basis, but I am. Michael Marra. I recall what was described as an unprecedented action in terms of ministerial direction that was given to certain alcohol and drug partnerships and health boards in that regard. What can the minister publish and put in the domain of parliament to tell us the instructions that have been given to those groups, the names of the accountable persons and the substance of the conversations that you are putting on them to deliver those changes at pace? Senior leaders and who is accountable at a local level should be published, improvement plans should be published at a local level. The last time I checked before Christmas in advance of coming to the chamber for the maths standards statement, that had happened in the vast majority of cases. However, if there are particular examples that members want me to pursue, I am absolutely more than happy to follow that up. In the statement, I outlined what information we would be coming to Parliament in June in terms of very specific reporting on progress in terms of that update to that red amber green assessment. Like other members, I am not going to prejudice my judgment on the right to recovery bill. I just want to see it. I want to be reassured that it is indeed inclusive of all treatment options, but I can give the assurance that I will participate in the parliamentary process in good faith. Of course, meantime, the Government will continue with its own legislative programme, whether that is the work in terms that Mr Brown's pursue in terms of the bail and release legislation, end-and-Friday liberations, but we are also working in and around the human rights bill, which is about putting into Scots law internationally recognised human rights that are ultimately enforceable in court. Of course, the national collaborative, that independent voice of lived and lived experience and families are developing the charter of rights, the implementation plan, which is not just about ensuring how we can put and practice the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health and how that can be put and practice in the context of the human rights bill, but also how we can do likewise with people's right to housing, education, a healthy environment and social networks, all of those determinants of good health. I also agree wholeheartedly that more can be done in Scotland and more is done in Scotland with the powers and resources that we have. I am, after all, in an earlier reincarnation, the minister who took through child poverty legislation without full powers, overtax and welfare powers. I am also the person when I was an employment minister who reduced youth unemployment despite no access to employment law. I think that I am a good example of the ever-pragmatic optimist who will always roll my sleeves up and deal with the hand that I have been dealt with. However, I also know that there are constraints. I hope that people are also supportive of the task force call for change in and around equality law regulations, which exclude people with addictions unless they have an addiction to prescribed medication underneath the disability regulations. We also need to have a mature debate discussion review in and around the misuse of drugs act. I would kindly say that we need to move away from the rhetoric of soft justice and our focus should be on what works. What works in terms of public protection, which is the absolute priority? What works in terms of prevention? What works in terms of rehabilitation? What works to make each and every community and individual safer? Paul Sweeney. I thank the minister for giving way, and certainly one thing we do know that works in prevention terms is over those prevention centres. This pilot is critical, made to get sight of the timescales. Could the minister please update this chamber? Can I say to Paul Sweeney that I cannot even begin to describe the impact that visiting on-point the safer drug consumption facility in New York had on me took a long time for me to process that. However, I can say that it has only ever increased my resolve to do everything within my powers to overcome barriers so that Glasgow can be the next city to have such a life-saving facility. I have to be really direct and candid with the chamber. The inquiries and feedback that I have been making and have received through my officials are very similar, almost identical to what committee members have received. I cannot speak on behalf of the Lord Advocate or the Crown Office, but I can reassure the chamber that anything that is within my gift or my power, I will do that. I will absolutely do that. There is, of course, an easier way—there would have been an easier way—to do this, but I am not going to make that perhaps more political point in today's debate. I am going to move on. I have taken two interventions from Labour. We have had some discussion around finance. Of course, record funding is going into tackling Scotland's drug deaths crisis, and people will have seen the draft budget, where there is a £12 million additional resource going into the national mission. I reiterate the point that I made earlier that multi-year funding is available to third sector organisations, and we are supporting organisations with the cost of living crisis with an increase. I am also determined to follow the money, because that is not just about quantum, but also about impact and ensuring that money is reaching where it is intended to reach. I will quickly say to Alex Cole-Hamilton in terms of his motion that I am with him in spirit, in terms of what he has outlined in terms of his own amendment. For some of those more arcane technical reasons, I cannot support it, because he is technically asking me to do something that I use not within my legal powers. I am in terms of drug-checking facilities. There is only one home office-licensed drug-checking facility in the United Kingdom—that is the Loop in Bristol. It is open once a month on payday weekend. I want to see drug-checking facilities in at least three of our cities, and we are engaging very closely with the city-leads on those applications that have to go to the home office and in and around the detail of that. I am happy to talk to him in more detail with respect to that point. I agree with Jamie Greene that no one can fight addiction on their own, and that applies to services and politicians. When I came into this post, I made a commitment to ensure that drug policy and the national mission would be joined at the hip, whether that is with education, prevention, housing and homelessness, employment, criminal justice, mental health and our efforts to tackle poverty and inequality. I recognise that everybody is much more than their drug or alcohol problem. No one should be defined by their substance use issue—that is why tackling stigma is so important. We also have to recognise that people with lived and living experience are assets and that they have a contribution to make to every aspect of society and not just drug policy. I do very much believe that our plan demonstrates how we are including people and not excluding them, as well as how we are scaling up our efforts. The Roots programme will expand into five new areas. Planet Youth will expand into eight regions. Housing First is already in 25 local authority areas with another two coming on stream. Recognising that home is much more than bricks and mortars. Homelessness is much more than a housing policy. In addition to our new or extended residential rehabilitation services and those 891 funded referrals into residential rehab over the lifetime of the national mission, we will build on that progress and maintain momentum with £18 billion in stabilisation services, which will also be a platform for change in terms of our services. I agree with some colleagues in the Labour Party on the national care services, because I want to bring drug services into the mainstream and to core universal services, and that is why I want it to be part of the biggest reform since the establishment of the NHS. I want it to be part of the national care service in the same way that I want drug services to be mainstreamed also as part of our primary care response. With our pathways work, whether that is in mental health, good faith or mad trauma, we are indeed reforming services, the length and breadth of Scotland. My final sentence, Presiding Officer, we know that there is not one solution. Yes, our work is complex, but we are in the business of mending and preventing broken lives. Our journey is both a sprint and a marathon. We are acting now, but we are also making long-term commitments, and we will build on that progress and maintain momentum. There is much work to do, but I recommend the report to Parliament. Thank you. That concludes the debate on national drugs mission cross-government response to the drug deaths task force report changing lives. It is now time to move on to the next item of business, and there are four questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first is that amendment 7469.3 in the name of Sue Webber seeks to amend motion 7469 in the name of Angela Constance on national drugs mission cross-government response to the drug deaths task force report changing lives be agreed. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed, therefore we will move to vote, and there will be a brief pause until I members to access the digital voting system.