 The next item of business is a debate on motion 6.924 in the name of Angela Constance on the national drugs mission, taking concrete action to tackle stigma. I would ask those members who would wish to speak in the debate to please press the request of speak buttons and I call on Angela Constance, minister, to speak too and to move the motion around 12 minutes please. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Scotland still faces a public health emergency and every single life lost to drugs is as tragic as it is unacceptable and preventable. Today, Presiding Officer, Parliament will give voice and view to the work that we can and must do in Scotland to end the shame of stigma in advance of the publication of the Scottish Government's Stigma Action Plan, and that will be published alongside our fuller response to the final recommendations from the Drugs Death Task Force at the start of next year. People who use drugs have often experienced childhood trauma, but every week I meet people with drug problems who have been burdened with the additional trauma of being stigmatised. This week I met with a women's lived experience reference group in Glasgow where I heard of the specific challenges faced by women and particularly mothers who have or who have used drugs. No one, be they parent, child, friend or loved one, should be blamed, shamed or labelled. No one coping with a life-affecting health condition should have to fear losing their children because of stigma. Let me be categorical here. Blame and shame have no place in our society or our system of care. No drug law, policy or practice should have the effect of undermining or violating the dignity of any person in Scotland. The truth is that stigma kills. Every day it hurts and damages vulnerable people and those who love them. It stops them from seeking support and shoves barriers in their faces when they do. It stops people from thriving and prevents people from reaching their true potential. Drug dependency is, in many cases, a long-term life-affecting health condition that disproportionately impacts people in our most marginalised and vulnerable communities. We must therefore recognise that actively fighting stigma is a crucial component of a human rights-based response to Scotland's drug death crisis. Stigma is fed by the myth that addiction is a choice and that people can stop using drugs if they only try hard enough. Some people try drugs or use them occasionally. Others use them to cope with trauma or pain, no matter the reason, no one chooses addiction. We do have a choice, however. We must choose to actively fight stigma and not view it as something inevitable about our country. In Scotland, we can build a society that does not project our own fears onto people who use drugs, a country that does not stigmatise or discriminate and that recognises our human duty to respond to this emergency with kindness and compassion. We can all learn. I thank the minister for taking an intervention. Earlier this week, my staff and I and mother-in-law attended Recovery Scotland's inaugural football competition. That brought together in celebration those organisations that are working to support individuals, but more especially to celebrate the people on the recovery journey that we are taking part in the tournament. It was over 70 people taking part. It brought the community together with people on that recovery journey. It was wonderful to see so many families supporting the people. Will the minister give this an excellent way to challenge stigma and to celebrate people who are on a recovery journey and to support them in that journey? Yes, I absolutely do. The visibility of the recovery community is vital to demonstrating that people can and do get better and that there is indeed hope in my congratulations to the football tournament and Miss Adamson's constituents. Scotland has begun some crucial work. The recent social attitudes survey showed that, in the past decade, attitudes towards drug use have moved away from blame and criminalisation towards compassion and understanding. Sadly, the same survey also shows that fear continues to exist, that stigma is still part of how we as a society respond to people who use drugs. However, stigma is not just about attitudes, it is about how those attitudes become embedded in public services that treat people differently on account of drug use, differently from how they treat people with other health conditions. To end that discrimination, we must take a hard and uncomfortable look at ourselves and actively include people who use drugs wherever they are excluded by, working together across all aspects of how we serve the people of Scotland in all sectors and not just public services. I will talk about that in my speech, but would you support a greater number of GPs becoming involved in care? The GP practices are located in communities, and I think that that would be a way to help address some stigma issues. I think that GPs are crucial to providing stigma-free primary care, and we can discuss that later. I am committed to publishing a stigma action plan that builds on the principles set out in the drug deaths task force stigma charter from 2021. The founding principle of our stigma action plan is that this is everyone's responsibility, and I know that members are already aware of the limitation of the disability regulations issued under the Equality Act. The task force recommended removing the exemption that singles out people with substance dependency. The power to do so does not reside in this Parliament, but while I cannot change those regulations, what I can do is continue to call on the UK Government to remove the exemption that excludes people with drug and alcohol dependencies from the protection of the Equality Act 2010. However, we can go beyond that. The Equality Act 2010 lays out a base level of protections, but there are further steps that we can take. We can do more. We can understand that substance dependency is a health condition. We can accept that people experiencing dependency are not only deserving but have a right to equality, dignity, respect and good health. We can choose to acknowledge that substance dependency is not a moral failing but a health condition, and we can choose to support people with that health condition, just as we do for other people with long-term life-effects and conditions. I am very grateful to the minister for giving way, and I absolutely support her efforts around the Equality Act in this regard. Does she agree with me that identification is still very key and that a lot of unresolved childhood trauma can lead to later life substance use, and that we need to do more to capture and record adverse childhood experiences so that we can get help to people? In short, yes, we may, of course, debate how best to do that, but in short, yes. Today, I am outlining the basis of the stigma action plan as a step towards the vision that we have that will establish a national programme with four keystones in its foundation. The first will set out what we, each one of us, can do now. We own our actions, learning and language. That means recognising the ways we other and exclude people. It includes challenging stigma and discrimination whenever we encounter it, in short, becoming allies. The second action will outline concrete actions underway in the Scottish Government to tackle stigma internally and in statutory services. We recognise that we, as an organisation, have a long way to go. I am committed to the Scottish Government becoming an exemplar as an anti-stigma organisation to lead by example, so we are reviewing and updating our own policies and ways of working across government. The third cornerstone will be an accreditation scheme for organisations. It aims to break down structural stigma. Organisations will be challenged to identify and remove ways of working that exclude people with problem substance use. It will include taking defined, miserable and reportable actions to remove those barriers. It will ensure that dependency is treated the same way as any other long-term life-affecting health condition by those organisations. I am really almost out of time, I am so sorry. The fourth platform is the delivery of a programme to tackle social stigma. We will build on the success of our stigma awareness media campaign that took place in 2021. It will include innovative and proactive ways to challenge public stigma. We will celebrate the success of individuals in their recovery in its many forms. The national programme encourages all of us to examine our own assumptions and the harms that are caused by stigma. The Scottish Government will set the bar high. We do not want those affected by substance use to be discriminated against because of their health condition. We will work towards becoming a nation that does not condone, blame, judge or shame people because of their health. Scotland has set out an ambitious way forward for respecting and enhancing human rights. The forthcoming human rights bill will give effect to a range of internationally recognised human rights in Scots law. That includes a range of human rights from the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health to the rights to adequate housing and to the adequate standard of living. The incorporation of those rights into Scots law through the bill will play an important role in tackling the stigma of substance dependency across Scotland by ensuring that everyone's human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled. People affected by substance use should not be penalised if, like many health conditions, it affects, for example, their ability to attend appointments or to meet arbitrary criteria for support. We cannot punish people because they do not fit a service model. Through the national collaborative, people with experience of problem substance use will set out how human rights can be better implemented in the sector. Applying a human rights-based approach is about empowering people to know about and claim their rights as well as preparing organisations to fulfil their obligations. It will also ensure accountability for when the system fails. That will set the vision for how human dignity and rights can underpin all services that people affected by problem substance use need. It will help to bring about the necessary shift in power and culture. At the start of my statement, I talked about meeting many people who have experienced trauma. I have also met many people who have overcame the trauma. The power of the visibility of the recovery community is inspirational and can be a catalyst for change, as people can and do recover. However, it also reminds us that those people have overcome significant stigma to achieve their recovery. We all must ensure that everyone who uses drugs is afforded the human rights and dignity that they deserve no matter where they are in their journey. We must ensure that everyone is not just given the opportunity to achieve the high-sattainable standard of mental and physical health, but that they are supported with compassion, dignity and respect to do so. I look forward to contributions from the chamber and I move the motion in my name. I now call on Sue Webber to speak to and move amendment 6, 9, 2, 4.1 around eight minutes, please, Ms Webber. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I move the motion in my name. Under the SNP, drug-related deaths were spiralled out of control. The SNP's current strategies to help those struggling with addiction are failing. Despite multiple SNP action plans, Scotland still has the highest drug death rate in Europe and 3.7 times higher than the UK as a whole. This scandal is Scotland's national shame and we cannot go on like this. Lives are being lost and families torn apart. Everyone is unique and has a specific set of circumstances and a background that they may or may not have been involved in triggering their addictive behaviour. Time and time again, when speaking to constituents, patient advocate groups and families of those whose loved ones desperately trying to access rehabilitation and recovery services, I hear first hand of the implementation gap. The gap between the aspiration and the plans laid down by the Scottish Government and what is actually being delivered is vast. What we do wrong is that we persistently and consistently have static services, unclear care, complex pathways and processes that are clunky and anything but flexible. Flexibility is key if we are to truly have person-centred care and have that person genuinely at the heart of the delivery of the services. I constantly hear of frustration, the exasperation and the harsh realities of the difficulties, barriers and walls that are put in the way to prevent people from receiving quick access to rehabilitation services, whether that be for alcohol or drugs. As the minister has stated in her opening remarks, that reinforces stigma. Let's be clear. The drug and alcohol services update from Audit Scotland in March found that only 35 per cent of the 60,000 people with drug problems in Scotland are in treatment, compared with 60 per cent in England. A report from drug campaigners and recovery experts claims that Scotland's politicians have forgotten about the drug death crisis, and I want to make it clear that I have not. The Faces and Voices of Recovery, one-year report published this week, states that there has been almost no progress towards reducing the rate of drug deaths in Scotland, which is the worst in Europe. Favours blueprint to save lives make six key recommendations to improve the current addiction recovery and treatment system. The first one was to introduce a clear definition of residential rehabilitation place, introduce a centralised referral and funding system to end the postcode lottery to residential rehabilitation. Thirdly, to introduce guidelines to ensure that psychosocial and mental health support is provided alongside substance management and pharmaceutical treatment. Introduce statistics to measure the number of people waiting more than six months, 12 months and 24 months for residential rehab places. I will, yes, thank you. Emma Harper. Thank you very much to whoever for giving way. You talked earlier about a person-centred approach and residential recovery is one approach, but would she agree that, depending on where you are in Scotland, a tailored approach might need to be made for your rural or urban for your whole family? Sorry, thank you very much for that intervention, Emma Harper. Yes, indeed, in my very opening part of my speech, I did say that everyone is unique. So yes, we all need to have those tailored packages to help those individuals and not let them running through and jumping through hoops to get support. The fifth recommendation was to introduce a right to recovery bill to ensure that the Scottish Government maps standard are actually implemented. Six, which also leads to Emma Harper's point, is to return to community, not centralised services, which will really have a local and focused element to it. Favour Scotland chief executive officer Ann Marie Ward said, We hoped that government investment and the introduction of new guidelines would improve things, but unfortunately, the system remains as broken today as it was a year ago. Whilst there has been a slight decrease in drug-related deaths, it should shock us that there are a disproportionate number of women dying from drug-related deaths, and that number is increasing. Often, those women have children who can stop them seeking help as they do not want to be stigmatised further or are at risk of having their children taking away. Being able to access services that suit their family's circumstance are poorly developed, but those are essential if we are to save the lives of those women. Harper House and Saltcoats North Ayrshire was officially opened by the First Minister earlier this week. It was awarded over £8 million in Scottish Government grant funding last year to establish a family rehabilitation service accepting referrals from across Scotland. Parents with problematic drug or alcohol use can now enter residential rehabilitation without the fear of being separated for their children, and we welcome that. However, only two of the 20 beds have been filled despite the facility opening for referrals on 5 October this year. The bed numbers at this facility to begin with were pitifully low, but for only a tenth of them to be used almost two months on is deeply concerning. I would have expected that a service like this would have been well publicised in advance of opening to all alcohol and drug partnerships across the country and that those organisations would have already identified those most in need of the services. You would have expected there to be a queue at the door, not an almost empty facility. It seems that the SNP have learned nothing from their previous grave errors in cutting the number of rehabilitation beds across Scotland. Families who have loved ones continue to struggle with addiction and are being let down at every turn by the SNP Government who are continuing to take their eye off the ball. The implementation gap must be tackled urgently. They need to urgently get back to back the Scottish Conservatives plan for the right to recovery bill, which would guarantee access to treatment for everyone who needs it. It is all too easy for Nicola Sturgeon and Angela Constance to visit this facility and to spin some nice rhetoric and take some photos, rather than take the bold action to require to tackle the record drug deaths that have occurred on their watch. There continues to be a never-winding gap with warm words of the SNP on the drugs death scandal. I appreciate Ms Webber giving way. It is important, as she has acknowledged, that we want to sing the praises of such a wonderful therapeutic environment. We should also recognise some of the practicalities in opening a new facility, which has been progressed at speed. I visited it at the start of summer when the building work was still going on. Does she also recognise that, in terms of populating the therapeutic environment, that any organisation begins with a few families being built? Of course, I welcome her encouragement of people the length and breadth of Scotland to utilise this amazing service. I remind you that you have 30 seconds left. However, I will give you some time back for the intervention to take you to nine minutes in total. I thank the minister for her intervention. Yes, I understand that it is a very complex environment and that getting people in that position to come to these facilities takes time and takes a lot of them. Still, my point stands that there is a lot of time ahead of this opening. I would hope that we would be seeing a few more families benefiting from this really critical service that will save lives. There continues to be a never-winding gap between the warm words of the SNP on the drugs death scandal and the reality of how little action it is continuing to take. That gap, as I continue to say, is widening between what is said and what is delivered and the processes that our people have to go through to access the critical services. As I have said today, the Scottish Conservatives believe that a different approach is needed to help people suffering from addictions. We hope that the SNP Government must finally start listening to the front-line experts and back our right to recovery addiction bill, which would guarantee treatment for those who are most in need. Thank you, Ms River. Can I just check that you moved to your amendment? At the very beginning. You did at the very beginning. Thank you very much indeed. I now call on Claire Baker to speak to and to move amendment 6, 924.2, around six minutes, please, Ms Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome this debate this afternoon on the national drugs mission and the action that has been taken to tackle stigma. The planned publication of a stigma action plan is welcome, albeit it is overdue, and addressing stigma is an important aspect of the work to address Scotland's drugs death crisis. However, it is not something that we can consider in isolation. Despite the declaration of drugs death being a public health emergency over three years ago now, we have simply not seen the pace or scale of change that this requires. In that time, NRS publications show that there have been over 2,500 drug-related deaths. If Police Scotland's suspected drug death figures are confirmed by the end of this year, we will likely be looking at well in excess of 3,000 lives having been lost. I know that the minister shares a great concern and are shocked at those figures, but we really must see quicker action. The responsibility lies with the Government to address that and deliver on that. I agree that substance dependence requires a public health response, and while I will push the Government on delivery, I support the policy approach. While we call for an urgent response that is worthy of the status of a crisis, there is also an active debate about human rights. How do we ensure that people can access help, be treated with humanity, not be discriminated against but supported in society? The right to recovery bill is a response to our frustration with services, a frustration at the slow pace of change, a frustration at barriers that remain to treatment and services. However, we must think about the best way to secure rights to treatment and recovery, and the Government motion proposes the idea that substance dependence be recognised as a protected characteristic of disability under the Equality Act. It is an exclusion to the category of disability under section 6.5, which enables Government to state exclusions, and they have included addiction to illicit and prescription drugs. I should say that that is the UK Government. To remove the exemption or to take action to disregard the exemption would still have conditions of being a substantial disability with a long-term impact, but I very much support exploring how those rights can be realised in Scotland and extending them to this group of people. However, for rights to be exercised, services and treatment must be funded and accessible with strong pathways to treatment. The best way to reduce drug-related harms, including stigma, is to ensure that people can access the full range of drug treatment services where they live. The favour report this week is the latest in a long line of reports that highlight the on-going problem of a postcode lottery of provision and a lack of mental health services. Rights can be seen as a way to drive change, but it is not always the case and there can still be slow progress. There are areas of progress, for example on the roll-out of naloxone provision. I recently undertook training with my staff on how to recognise signs of overdose and administer naloxone in the event of an overdose, carried out by We Are With You at my office in Logelay. My office staff all received the training, along with some of the other organisations that are in our building. The session did really help to demystify and challenge some of the ideas that people have around drug use and overdose. If people are trained and carrying naloxone, it becomes more normalised and something people do not need to feel ashamed or concerned about doing. Stigma is a significant barrier to people reaching out for help. The fear of not being listened to, the fear of losing children and the fear of being judged. I welcome this week's focus on the new facility at Harper House in Salt Cotes, which focuses on families and parents. As Sue Weber has recognised, in particular the pressure and the stress is often on mothers who are living with a substance dependency. That is a huge barrier. I welcome the recognition that we see facilities where parents and mothers can be treated without being separated from their children and that facilities need to be diverse and cater for everyone who needs help. We need to see more of that throughout the country. We must recognise that treatment options are all valid and that people need different support at different times in their life. Support must be responsive and people-centred, not predetermined about what support someone needs. The weight of expectation is also heavy and it can be overwhelming for some people who are looking to access treatment. I did see on Twitter today a comment about supporting those who are bereaved following substance use, who also experience stigma that can prevent them from accessing services and increasing isolation. When the plan comes in, I hope that it recognises that it is also families who experience the stigma. I will just talk briefly about approaches to treatment. Some people will choose to be abstinent. It is an approach that benefits some people, while others do benefit from medical assisted treatment and or support to reduce harm reduction. The aim is to stabilise life, to support people to keep their families together and to be part of their community, not to be ostracised or isolated. Our health services need to do all they can to destigmatise the services. GP practices are often central to a community. The practitioners have often seen people grow up and have provided much of their care. The focus on centralised addiction services, which can provide crucial medical support, can also be stigmatising. I would welcome an increase in care delivered through primary care and more community delivery. I was recently in Halifax in Canada and I visited the Direction 182 facility. This is a holistic centre on a high street, offering substance use services, including prescribing GPs and other services such as wound care, peer group support, mental health services, and it operates a drop-in as well as having referrals. It also funded a programme to recruit GPs to manage people with substance use in their community and a programme to support them in going on to continue delivering that care. It is a model that we should be considering here in Scotland. While we need to ensure that we act quickly to end the drug crisis, the scale of drug-related harms in Scotland will likely continue unless we address underlying drivers that are highlighted in our amendment. There is much in the Scottish Government's motion that we can agree with. We recognise that the work is being taken forward to address stigma, but the true test will be in delivery. We will support the Government's motion today. I cannot support the Conservative amendment, which raises many points that we agree with, but we are awaiting the bill's publication. I move the amendment in my name. Thank you very much indeed, Ms Baker. I now call Alex Cole-Hamilton for around six minutes, Mr Cole-Hamilton. Thank you very much indeed, Deputy. Presiding Officer, it gives me pleasure to rise for my party on such an important and urgent issue. The minister knows that I want her to succeed on this. We had, I think, a robust exchange in the committee this morning. I am grateful to her for that. Scottish Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for decades on treating problem drug use as a public health issue, and this is largely due to the misconceptions that, unfortunately, still surround this debate. We have heard many of them today. I am gratified that there is consensus now in this chamber that this is a public health rather than criminal justice issue, but I think that we still have some distance to travel in the community to have that new take hold there. I fear that, whilst there has been huge progress in shifting attitudes, there are still people who view addiction as some sort of choice rather than a debilitating disease that is born out of circumstance that are more often than not entirely outside one's control. As a result, those suffering can be ostracised from their communities, cut off from the help that they need and deny even basic human kindness. Imagine, Deputy Presiding Officer, having a life-threatening illness and then having to contend with all of that on top of it. It is unthinkable to most of us. The Hepatitis C Trust note that people with Hepatitis C, which is often, as we know, a result or contracted as a result of sharing contaminated injecting equipment feel that stigma is still highly prevalent and this makes people less likely to get tested or to present to them to get tested. As a result, the infection can go untreated for long periods of time, increasing fatality or chances of fatality and it is clear then that stigma really does have deadly consequences. It is therefore very positive to see the Government recognising the importance of tackling this stigma and I welcome the thrust of today's motion and indeed debate. However, there is still so much more that we need to do. After all, stigma cannot be combated until all our understanding and response is universalised across Scotland and all of our sectors. That requires decisive, urgent and radical leadership. Leadership by fear, our Government has been slow in delivering and we cannot forget the context in which we are having this debate. Government is still presiding over the worst drug deaths in the entirety of Europe. It is a rate that is three and a half times higher than the rest of the United Kingdom all the time. There is Government slashes funding for rehabilitation services and we need to make no mistake that this is a uniquely Scottish problem that has been made worse on this Government's watch. Our experts have long advised a shift in our public response specifically to methods of harm reduction. One such policy is drug consumption rooms. Again, that is another issue that, over time, has galvanised political support across the benches of this chamber in large part done by the heroic work of people like Peter Criken. When a drug consumption room opened in New York last year, trained staff were able to reverse two overdoses in its first official day of operation that could otherwise have proven fatal. The implementation of drug consumption rooms in Scotland could be game-changing, which is why the Scottish Liberal Democrats continue to campaign for them. That does now rest with the Lord Advocate. I am gratified that the Government is persuaded and I am keen to find ways around the implementation of drug consumption rooms within the remit and the terms of the misuse of drugs act. It is something that I was gratified to have in exchange with the minister on in committee this morning. We need urgent action. I hope that the focus of the Lord Advocate is moved away from matters of constitution that we can remedy immediately. Every week that goes by, where we do not pilot a drug consumption room, I fear that lives are being lost. This policy is of life-saving importance, and that is exactly why we should ask her to focus on it. Furthermore, while this year has marked the introduction of MAT standards into our public policy again, which we welcome, there are still huge gaps in the delivery and realisation of those standards on the ground. There is a huge shortage of staff who specialise in assessing the needs of individuals and distribution of services. That particularly remains an issue in areas of rurality, where it is incredibly difficult for me to have empirical evidence to demonstrate that it is incredibly difficult to access same-day services. All of that hinders staff's ability to act quickly in providing treatment, and again, Deputy Presiding Officer, potentially costs lives. As I mentioned earlier, it is crucial that a harm reduction strategy is adopted across all our public sectors and addresses all our communities, be they urban or rural. A prevalent cause in drug-related deaths is when drugs are mixed with other substances that are dangerous and often toxic. Creating facilities also that test drugs I think puts us in the same sphere as drug consumption rooms. It recognises that a zero tolerance approach, wishing this away, will not work. However, if people are going to consume them, we have a duty to help them to do so safely. We know that they work at large-scale social events and festivals and nightclubs, and that could massively reduce harm. Harm, Deputy Presiding Officer, you may well know, was visited on my constituency just two weeks ago with the tragedy at a festival that took place there. What is more, those facilities are in use or have been used in parts of England and Wales, but they have never been tried in Scotland. It is crucial that we do all that we can to work with the Police Scotland to provide those services. Again, that is something for the Lord Advocate to consider in terms of guidance to policing. I conclude by noting that the reasons for drug misuse are often borne by underlying social causes, linked to poverty and unresolved childhood trauma. We need to find that trauma and deal with it. In the worst cost of living crisis, our country is set to face in decades. Those causes will have a devastating impact on those already suffering and could push more to the brink. It is therefore imperative that we include social care and welfare into our approach going forward. We need to implement policies that are empathetic and encompass the widest societal causes of drug use. Only then can we begin to eradicate the stigma. Thank you very much. Mr Cole-Hamilton, we now move to the open debate. I call first Emma Harper to be followed by Miles Briggs for around six minutes. Ms Harper. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Every life lost to addiction is a tragedy and I know that the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to implementing approaches that we know work to save lives and reduce harm. We must remember at all times that people with a substance use disorder are family members, neighbours and people in our communities. Instead of criminalising people in our population, we need a public health approach that supports those with substance dependency and prevents unnecessary deaths. The Scottish Government is under no illusion about the seriousness or scale of the challenges that we need to pursue new bold ideas and innovative approaches. In January 2021, the Scottish Government set out a national mission to improve lives and save lives at the core of which is ensuring that every individual is able to access the treatment and recovery that they choose, recovery that will work for them. We must empower more people to seek support. We must make that support more consistent, flexible, effective and much faster and we must help services to stick with the people whom they support. I welcome that the Scottish Government is committed to listening to people who have real-life experience of harmful drug use to those who live or have lived with substance dependency and their families. The families that really support their loved ones who are suffering from substance dependency. Indeed, an additional £250 million has been allocated over the next five years to improve and increase access to services for people affected by drug addiction. All that is welcome. I also welcome what the minister has just described with the four pillars of a stigma action plan. Problematic substance use is a health condition, but the stigma associated with it can have detrimental consequences for the individual, their families and the wider community. Today's debate is about tackling stigma. It is an essential step in reducing drug-related deaths. The drug's death task force paper, the strategy to address stigma of people and communities affected by drug use, has described extremely well what stigma is and who is affected. The association between substance use and personal deficit allows the youth to be portrayed as a failure of character or morals. This is an ideological framing of a problem substance use as a solely personal issue. That justifies and reinforces stigma. The drug's task force developed a stigma charter that all organisations, including businesses and community groups, can use. The charter aims to create a Scotland that is free from stigma in order to support a public health approach for problematic substance use. However, we need more action to deal with stigma and raise awareness of it, particularly among healthcare professionals. The chamber knows that I worked in the Scottish NHS prior to coming here. I have witnessed myself, and I still hear recent feedback from former colleagues that the words junkie, druggy, alkate, jakey are still used in healthcare. Use of those words is not acceptable, whether in a clinical area or by professionals away from the professional workplace. We should call it out, but we also need to ensure that the staff are properly educated. The minister will be aware that I recently wrote to Nez, National Education Scotland, to seek whether a relatively short online module was or could be created to address drug-related stigma, not just for professionals working directly in alcohol and drug front-line services. I was interested to know whether education could be targeted at all healthcare staff, pharmacists, nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. People with substance misuse health issues will encounter healthcare, which is not solely addiction services, so tackling stigma is essential for everyone. The response that I received from Nez was a bit disappointing. Nez said, and I quote, that, currently, there is no dedicated resource solely for addressing the issue of stigma related to alcohol and drug use. However, stigma is incorporated in a number of our other resources. I searched the online tourist education portal and found a couple of modules with the word stigma, but they were not alcohol or drug-focused. NHS Inform has some absolutely great comprehensive info that could just be lifted and used, maybe even as a mandatory module. I have responded to Nez back to seek further information to ask for a specific education on substance misuse or alcohol harm. I have asked the minister if she would consider meeting with me to discuss whether a basic, short online learning module could or should be created and then delivered. The strategy from the task force also asks who should lead on the strategy to tackle stigma. Groups such as other alcohol and drugs bodies are mentioned, such as the ADPs, the Scottish Drug Forum, the Scottish Recovery Consortium, the Scottish Families affected by alcohol and drugs, and the third sector. However, Nez has also mentioned that the strategy document goes on to state that working with mainstream services is required. Specifically, mentioning front-line staff and management is used in the document. It says that we need to understand the causes and drivers of problem drug use and recognise their role in stigmatising people with drug problems. That is a direct reference to mainstream services. I would be interested to hear the minister's thoughts on that. I welcome the steps that the Scottish Government has taken to tackle harmful drug use to reduce stigma, and I look forward to hearing other contributions this afternoon. Thank you very much. I now call Miles Briggs to be followed by Willie Coffey for around six minutes. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Thinking about this debate yesterday to write this speech, I was thinking about a case I had just before the pandemic. Specifically, it was with regard to a constituent in the night of Socrates prison who contacted me to say that he did not want to go back to his family here in Lothian. Contacting public services, I have to say that I was really shocked at their attitude towards that individual. I was told, and I am paraphrasing here, that I was unlucky that I had landed with him. I am specifically looking at what he was described as, a problem junkie. That has to change in this country, and I hope that today's debate can certainly help to do that. I welcome what Emma Harper had to say, because I think that there was a lot of positive suggestions there in taking forward working on this. It is not an easy thing to do, but it is something that we have to do. I also wanted to discuss today around homelessness and housing, because I still think that that is one area where the Scottish Government is not building in a solution for the drug deaths crisis. Figures released yesterday show that the number of estimated homeless deaths across Lothian, my region, has increased dramatically over the past three years, from 26 in 2019 to 63 last year. The number of homelessness applications has increased over the past three years as well across all the councils in my region to more than 8,165. The number of children in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh, as things stand today, is over 1,000. Those figures are nothing short of appalling, but we need to see that also as part of this wider picture as well, because many people are ending up in problematic drug misuse and in facilities where they are also being housed with people with problematic drug misuse. If you are trying to get off drugs, if you are trying to sustain your treatment, that is not working. It is something that I think Parliament and the minister really needed to consider. I raised that with her at the committee session this morning. Six years ago, I, alongside Alex Cole-Hamilton, Alex Anasawa and Monica Lennon, as our relative party spokespeople, called on ministers to declare a drug deaths emergency. Ministers dragged their feats for years, insisting that strategies were actually working. In the end, it was public outrage that Scotland had these drug deaths that really drove ministers to declare that public health emergency and finally see this shift, but that was after shameful decisions to cut funding, which made the situation worse. The Scottish Government's approach to tackling drug deaths needs to be constantly improved and looked at. I think, as I have said, housing support and that extra care needs to be built into that as well. It is lacking currently within strategies. Shelter Scotland has said with regard to the edit situation. Alex Cole-Hamilton. I am grateful to Miles Briggs for giving way. I am grateful for him recognising the work that we did collaboratively on the drug deaths emergency. Does he recognise that the funding cut to ADPs in 2015-16 not only sent services to the wall but lost organisational memory accounted for a £1.3 million cut to our nation's capital alone and also led to an HIV outbreak in Glasgow? I absolutely do. Part of speaking to people in services today still destabilises them to this very day. Where services need to be redesigned, that work still is not taking place. The funding that has been delivered—this is something that the Audit Scotland report points towards—we are not seeing that money trickling down two services and it is hard to follow that money, specifically with regard to the... Yes. I will be brief. Mr Briggs, if he has, in light of his remarks, referred to our national mission annual report, which indicates where funding has been allocated to. I welcome that. I was specifically going to go on to policy around no-wrong door and how funding can then be allocated to different organisations, especially third sector organisations. That is not clear, and it is something that I want the Government to focus on. There were so many things from this morning's session with the cross-committee work that I wanted to raise, but specifically a few things I will bring to this firstly with regard to hep C, because there was a great opportunity to look towards how stigma is addressed with regard to hep C patients, especially those who are former injecting drugs users. That is something that we need to look towards. I am concerned as one of the hep C champions that we are not seeing the progress currently, which Scotland was leading the world on this at one point. We are falling behind, apart from in Dundee, and I hope that we can look at that being addressed as well. A few other issues, and one of my greatest concerns is with regard to alcohol treatment and alcohol services. We are seeing an increase in the number of people being presenting the younger people than ever before with alcohol issues, and we have also seen the Scottish Government not taking on board MAT standards for alcohol. I have raised this with the Public Health Minister, and I am raising it now with the Drugs Minister. That needs to change. We need to see MAT standards for alcohol treatment as well, because we cannot take our eye off the ball on another crisis, which is increasing alcohol misuse in this country. That might be because of the pandemic as well and change in alcohol use, but it is something that I hope ministers are really mindful of, because a lot of charities and people working in this area are incredibly concerned about that. Finally, to close, this is a welcome debate around stigma. We all need to address it in our language, in our public services, but most importantly for families. Families who are trying to support a loved one with alcohol addictions are often facing some of the worst stigma in our society. Clare Baker pointed towards that. That is where public services really need to look towards, and we need to send a message out today that we are on their side and will support families with their loved ones to try to get them into treatment in the future. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr Briggs. I now call Willie Coffey to be followed by Katie Clark around six minutes. Mr Coffey. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Before I start, can I gently remind the Tories that there were 3,000 drug poisoning deaths in England and Wales last year and nearly 5,000 drug-related deaths in total? The highest since 1993 down there, but nobody in here will stand up and say that it is all the Tories fault. It is a little bit more complex than that, I think, members. I wish for lonely sometimes that the Tories might recognise that from time to time when they come in here, blaming the Scottish National Party for Erdyn. Presiding Officer, I wanted to start my contribution by sharing a little bit about my experience in visiting one of the addiction support projects operating in Cormart. I was invited down to hear at first hand the lived experiences of people and their families living with addiction, what their life was like and, more importantly, what they felt was the way forward for them. I heard an incredibly moving set of accounts of how people fall into taking drugs sometimes by choice. They freely admitted, sometimes because of desperation and a feeling of hopelessness through lack of opportunity and loss of self-esteem. They entered a world where false comfort was available to them, even for a few brief moments. It helped ease the pain and it helped them to get to their next target, surviving till the next day. Not one of the people I listened to that day blamed anyone but themselves for the situation they found themselves in. It was their doing, they said. Family members around the table were almost living two lives trying to cope with the normal day-to-day things that we all have to deal with, and at the same time living in the horror of watching a loved one slowly succumbing to the overwhelming downward spiral that addiction meets out on people. Everyone who spoke that day had one common wish. They wanted hope that their lives could be turned round, hope that even when things looked bleak they could hold on and get help at the moment they needed it to save their lives. It was as simple as that. I have made the same visit several times now to other projects and the message remains the same. Please help by giving us hope that we can get through this. The folk who came into the various meetings were well aware of the stigma that added more to their suffering. To be viewed by neighbours, friends and sometimes even family as an addict, somebody to be watched, not trusted to keep away from, just added more to the pain. However, it still came in and still shared their stories. Putting that kind of lived experience at the heart of what we do is absolutely essential if we are to have any chance of turning this problem around. My colleague Angela Constance came to one of those projects just on a year ago and spent several hours listening to that lived experience. I am sure that this helped her to shape the kind of services that I know we all hope will turn this around and I am grateful to her for doing that. When I look at all the plans being put in place and the ideas from other parties, I am encouraged that we are tackling the problem head-on. No one group of us has exclusive wisdom in the solutions and we all need to listen and look at what others around the world are doing too. The Scottish Government's £250 million earmarked over the term of the Parliament has to make a difference and the residential rehab facilities are surely going to help save lives, especially the facility in Ayrshire, which will be able to accommodate families for as much as six months, as I understand it. I am grateful to the Royal College of Physicians for their brief, helpful insight and support for bold action being needed in some key areas that can make a difference, on decriminalisation, on safe consumption spaces and on hero and assisted treatment programmes. The site, the Portuguese experience of decriminalising possession of all drugs since 2001 and that the numbers of deaths caused by drug overdose each year in that country dropped from 80 in the year 2001 to 16 in 2012. In Scotland last year, we know our figure was 1,330. I know that it is risky to make direct comparisons, but surely that experience points Scotland in a direction that will save lives. I know that the Scottish Government is working on all options, but we cannot do it alone. As ever, I want to mention some of the good work going on in Ayrshire that is providing that much-needed support to local people and their families. The new recovery hub in the town is staffed by people with that lived experience, and it is open seven days a week to those who need it. In addition, Ayrshire has established it as a recovery college, where people are gaining the skills they need to give them that hope that they wanted for a better future in employment. All the ingredients that people are calling out for are being delivered there by people who care and people with that lived experience to no judgment and no stigma. In drawing my remarks to our close, I just wanted to end where I began. I remind members that what we need to do more than most is to offer hope by providing the support and resources that are needed when it is needed most. Funding and money do make a big difference, but compassion is priceless. I welcome the debate and the Government's focus on stigma in its motion. As the minister knows, the creation of a national stigma action plan is one of the 20 recommendations of the task force report, along with 139 actions. The task force argues the importance of stigma as an underlying component in the drugs death crisis. Scotland, as we know, has consistently the worst drugs deaths in Europe. There are many reasons for that. As Willie Coffey has just said, the lack of hope and opportunities in communities is clearly a major factor. In the last year that we have figures for, there were 14,310 drug-related hospital stays. Approximately half of the patients with a drug-related hospital stay came from the most deprived areas in Scotland. The Labour amendment recognises that and the need for policies that address poverty, deprivation and Scotland's wider health inequalities as part of the strategy to look at those issues. I would be very happy to accept an intervention. I thank the member for giving way. Just in the context of the factors that, as he described, can be or are stigmatising for people, would you agree that one of the most stigmatising factors is, in fact, the current misuse of drugs legislation that is now over 50 years old and has been shown to have failed over those 50 years and, in fact, rather it has frequently pushed people back into a cycle of offending and, as you say, is impacting the most vulnerable in communities. I agree with the convener of the Criminal Justice Committee that the misuse of drugs act has failed. However, that legislation is, of course, in place throughout the UK, and in Scotland we have significantly higher drugs deaths than in the rest of the nations of the UK. Clearly, that is just one factor, and there are many other factors that are driving the very significant problems that we have in Scotland. We know that the system currently fails those seeking support with drug addiction, and the high levels of drug deaths in Scotland clearly highlight that failure. In total, 1,330 people lost their lives to drugs misuse in Scotland in 2021. That was the second highest annual total on record, and we consistently have a problem with the worst deaths rates in Europe. Areas such as West Scotland have some of the worst statistics in the country. In North Ayrshire there were 39 deaths recorded, the highest number in the Ayrshire and Arran health board, and the minister has already spoken about the facility that has opened very recently in soul quotes. North Ayrshire has the fourth highest levels of drug deaths in the country, but when you look at some of the other economic drivers in North Ayrshire, it often has, unfortunately, some of the worst statistics, whether that is higher levels of domestic abuse, poor levels of employability, and many of the other economic drivers that highlight lack of opportunity, lack of hope, poor levels of poverty and deprivation. Will Ms Clark therefore welcome the fact that, given the additional challenges that North Ayrshire has, it has additional benefits of having a national specialist facility within its perimeter? As the minister knows, it is a national facility, and it will not just be people from North Ayrshire that use the facility because of the nature of the facility for families that will be suitable for people with young children in particular. The issue that the minister may be highlighting is the need for a range of different types of facilities that are suitable for the individual needs of the person and that are available most importantly when that individual needs and is asking for assistance. That is quite often key to successes. Those facilities have to be available when that individual is looking for them. We understand that it is very common for people who experience problems with drugs to have significant problems with mental health, alcohol, abuse. A recent report from Public Health England highlighted that mental health problems are experienced by a majority—they said that 70 per cent—of users in community substance abuse treatment. Other research such as that published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that demonstrating the pointing to examples of successful harm reduction programmes can reduce stigma about drug use. I think that it is very important that those discussions are taking place in this Parliament about stigma but also about what is available and should be available. I appreciate that I do not have a huge amount of time, but I welcome the motion from the Government today. I think that there needs to be a recognition that Scotland has failed that the high levels of drugs deaths are an indicator of that failure. I believe that many of the recommendations in the report and the action points are part of the pathway that we need to go forward. I look forward to hearing from the minister in detail as we go forward how the Government is going to respond to all the recommendations and all the recommended actions. Thank you very much indeed. Ms Clark, I call Collette Stevenson to be followed by Gillian Mackay for around six minutes. Whether it is peers calling you derogatory names and demeaning you, public agencies treating you with contempt or your own thoughts telling you that you are worthless, stigma against people with problematic drug use can be crippling. I would argue that the UK Government's failed war on drugs has exacerbated that. Instead of criminalising large swathes of the population, we need a public health approach that supports those with addictions and prevents unnecessary deaths. More than that, we need an integrated person-centred approach to treatment, so I welcome the actions as part of the national mission to expand the services available to people as well as the introduction of same-day treatment. The motion also talks about the importance of being respectful when dealing with people with the experience of problem drug use. I absolutely agree with that sentiment and that kind of change can go a long way towards eliminating stigma, both societal and self-stigma. In terms of social stigma, some individuals seem to find it easy to mock people with substance dependence and to resort to name-calling, but that must change. People must be more aware of the impact of their words to prevent maintaining the scourge of stigma against many of our fellow citizens. At the end of the day, people with an addiction have an illness and they deserve to get treated fairly under a public health approach. We must remember that people with a substance use disorder are our family members, our friends, our neighbours and colleagues. Drug and alcohol issues are very common here and can affect anyone. As well as the social stigma and self-stigma, a huge challenge for many people with experience of drug use and many other illnesses is the belief sometimes backed up by experience that government does not value you or that you are not a full member of society. Whether you have experience of substances or not, everyone in Scotland has rights. You have every right to live in your community, every right to medical care and every right to vote and have your say on how your country is run. In that vein, an excellent initiative is the national collaborative. That will empower people affected by drugs and alcohol in Scotland to ensure that their voices and their rights are acted upon in policy and practice. They will serve alongside people responsible for delivering services. I wish everyone involved with that all the best and believe that its outcomes will be powerful. I know from my own experience that families as well as service workers are not immune from that stigma. Stigma spreads and sometimes it becomes so pervasive that entire communities are characterised by stereotypes and myths. The fact that stigma can get so out of hand demonstrates the fallacy of it. That should make people reflect on their own words but also to consider whether we want to live in a society where people get and deserve the chance for recovery and to just be the friendly, loving, kind or consider mum, dad, brother, sister, son, daughter, friend or neighbour that they are. I thank for everyone's sake that this is the best approach. The personal cost of stigma is huge. It can reinforce the helplessness that is felt by someone with problematic drug use or increase the guilt that you might feel for what you perceive as what you have done to family and friends. As we all know and as I know personally, the risks of not getting the treatment that you need include early death. Stigma is damaging and a barrier to treatment. In my view, it plays a big role in the number of drug-related deaths that we see. I welcome the stigma strategy developed by the Drugs Death Task Force, which identifies actions that will help reduce stigma, as well as the current work by members of the task force with lived and living experience who are leading on a stigma charter. I understand that this charter will challenge all of us to consider what we can do to create a stigma-free Scotland, and that is something that we must do. To conclude, Stigma does nothing but hinder people with problematic substances, their families and friends, and sometimes whole communities. We should all consider the effects of our language and resolve to treat everyone with dignity and respect. That could be a lifesaver. I look forward to the Scottish Government's publication of the stigma action plan, and I hope that it will be another step on the way to supporting people to get the help that they want in creating a stigma-free Scotland. Thank you very much for Mr Stevenson. I now call Gillian Mackay to be followed by Annie Wells around six minutes, Ms Mackay. Stigma is dangerous. It fuels misunderstanding of addiction and it can prevent people from seeking and receiving help. It often marginalises people who use drugs and places them at greater risk. Stigma is not only unfair and unjust. Stigma kills. It is dangerous, and I agree with the words of the motion that tackling stigma is everyone's responsibility. The stigmatisation of people who use drugs is difficult to tackle, given its pervasiveness. It is widespread throughout society, as well as support services and messaging from media and politicians often reinforce stereotypes. As the final report of the drug deaths task force points out, discrimination is even enshrined in UK law, which actively discriminates against people with drug dependency in crucial areas of human rights. I was extremely disappointed when the former UK Government Minister of State for Crime and Policing gave evidence during a joint committee meeting on reducing drug deaths in February and using stigmatising language. When such rhetoric comes from people in positions of power and influence, that is very damaging. Those in positions of authority have responsibilities to consider any harm that may be caused by their language, and I hope that everyone in this chamber feels the weight of that responsibility. Stigmatising language sends the message that people who use drugs are somehow less deserving of support or should be regarded as criminals. It creates a narrative of us versus them and can prevent the public from regarding people who use drugs with empathy and compassion. It makes scapegoats of people who use drugs and blames them for problems that are often a cause of drug use, not a result. To challenge that, we need to focus on the root causes of problem drug use and shift the narrative away from drug use as a driver of crime. Time and time again in the chamber, the point has been made by myself and others that problem drug use is a public health issue, not a criminal justice one, and I hope that we can all agree on that. The task force report states that evidence shows that unacceptable and avoidable stigma and discrimination towards drug use are increased by criminalising people. We have heard that the misuse of drugs act 1971 is outdated and needs to be reformed to support harm reduction measures and the implementation of a public health approach. The war on drugs has failed and has increased the stigmatisation and demonisation of people who use drugs, making them less likely to seek treatment and it is endangering lives. The UK must abandon this outdated and dangerous strategy. We need a new, compassionate approach that seeks to uphold the rights of people who use drugs and support them into treatment, one that affords them their dignity, treats them like human beings and listens to what their needs are. We also need to recognise the various ways in which stigma isolates people with drug use and prevents them from seeking support. It does not only affect people who use drugs, friends, families and carers may also have to suffer the trauma of seeing people they love and support being marginalised and diminished as less than any other citizen. People who work in front line services will also be impacted by stigma, which is why it is essential that all those working in addiction services undertake anti-stigma training. I am in favour of that being rolled out more widely given that people who use drugs may be in contact with multiple services throughout their lives, including housing, mental health and social work. Tackling stigma within the workforce will hopefully initiate a culture change where services are less punitive and inflexible and become more person-centred. There should be an understanding that a one-size-fits-all approach simply will not work for people who use drugs, as it does not take account of individual circumstances. People who use drugs may live chaotic lives and should not be punished for that. People who use drugs may also be stigmatised due to factors such as gender, ethnicity, disability, unemployment and homelessness, and we need to recognise the multiple ways in which people are affected by stigma and how that reinforces trauma. Recognising that people who use drugs are human beings and that they are not at fault and nor should they be punished is the very minimum that we can do for them. I completely agree that treating substance dependence as if it were included as part of the protected characteristic of disability would contribute to a more fair and just society. What good comes of denying people access to adjustment, which may make their lives easier and help them to engage with support and treatment services? The Equality Act 2010 states that addiction to alcohol, nicotine or any other substance is to be treated as not amounting to an impairment unless as a result of the administration of medically prescribed drugs or other treatment. The task force report calls for that to be removed, stating that the exemption is stigmatising and discriminatory. It prevents people from receiving reasonable adjustments that may assist their engagement with treatment and on-going recovery. I would like to echo this call and urge the Scottish Government ministers to continue to engage with the UK Government on this matter. Education is key to tackling stigmatism, and we need to send to the voices of living and lived experience who know the reality of life while using drugs. We need to empower people to speak about their experiences and raise their voices in protest when stigma is being perpetrated or services are failing people. However, I would like to reiterate a point that was made in the task force report. While peer programmes and advocacy can be an important part of recovery for many, it is not the responsibility of a person with lived or living experience to educate others unless they choose to do so, in which they should be compensated for their work accordingly. Again, it is the responsibility of all of us to tackle stigma and ensure that people who use drugs are treated with compassion and understanding. In conclusion, stigma isolates people who use drugs. It shuts them off from avenues of support and prevents them from reaching out. It is dangerous and costs lives. We must all be part of the joint effort to eradicate stigma and treat people who use drugs with the compassion, respect and dignity that they deserve. It has been said many times before, but I will keep on saying it until meaningful action is taken. Scotland is experiencing a drug death crisis. For many people in communities like mine and Springburn, families continue to be devastated by drugs and are left suffering in grief. It is true in broader society that stigma does exist. That may in part explain why some people do not seek the help that they need. I agree with the Government's emphasis on that. Stigma creates unnecessary barriers for some of the most vulnerable in our society. On Monday, I attended the launch of Favour UK's one-year report on their blueprint to save lives. I was struck by their passion, dedication and deep frustration over how little progress has been made in supporting some of the most vulnerable in our society. The launch at Blue Vale Community Club marked one year since Douglas Ross and the First Minister met at the same location in Glasgow, attending alongside charities, experts and those with lived experience of drug addiction. Following the First Minister's admittance that her Government had taken at sigh of the ball, that meeting was supposed to signal a turning point in combating the drug death crisis in Scotland. Yet, having attended Monday's launch, it is abundantly clear, front-line experts believe, that the SNP Government continues to fall short in supporting people in their road to recovery from drugs. There has been a very modest reduction in the number of fatalities recorded last year and, of course, that has to be recognised. However, let us be crystal clear, progress remains painfully slow. The figures do not lie. Scotland still has by far the worst drug death record in Europe, with tragically 1,330 Scots losing their lives to drugs in 2021. Each person behind those statistics is someone's mum, dad, son, daughter or friend. Presiding offers, as I touched on, favour UK's report states that the current treatment system is broken, with almost no progress having been made in reversing this crisis, which has engulfed communities across Glasgow and Scotland. Despite new funding promised by this Government, significant shortcomings in the current framework have included some of the most vulnerable, left and limbo, cast a drift in the system, waiting years for their treatment programmes to begin. I strongly encourage MSPs from across the chamber to read favour UK's report, which is available on their website, to get a sense of the significant obstacles vulnerable people face in accessing vital treatment that they need to survive. As I have said repeatedly, I recognise that there is no silver bullet to ending the drug deaths crisis in Scotland. However, to this end, I agree with the Government that meaningful action to tackle stigma will be important in encouraging people to seek the treatment that they need. That treatment must be readily available to access in the first place. Given that those individuals must jump over to get the treatment that they need, I have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to back the right to addiction recovery bill and Douglas Ross's name. However, a key strength of the right to addiction recovery bill is that it has not been developed on a vacuum. It has been drafted in conjunction with charities and front-line experts, with many individuals involved having direct lived experience, who truly understand the impacts stigma can have in seeking treatment. They have contributed to the development of the bill at every stage of the process so far, and I sincerely thank them for their input. The insight and expertise of organisations from favour UK to Cisco is invaluable as they understand what it takes to guide someone to success in their recovery from substance abuse. It is no wonder that the bill received overwhelming support in the consultation stage. The right to addiction recovery bill would guarantee access to treatment for everyone who needs it. Front-line experts and those with lived experience have been clear that providing reliable pathways to treatment, whether that be rehabilitation services, is crucial in saving lives. That law would provide a statutory right for individuals to access addiction recovery treatment services, including community-based residential rehab. The experts of stress is so important. The bill has the backing of front-line experts and has generated widespread support. I hope that the minister and the Scottish National Party Government will back the bill when it comes to Parliament early in the new year. Following years of presiding over the drugs death crisis, the minister should understand more than most that a radical solution is required to end a shameful record and to ultimately save lives. We are done with warm words, we are done with platitudes and we are done with lip service. As favour UK say, you talk, we die. That crisis would have been allowed to worsen for far too long, and I urge the chamber to back the amendment in Sue Weber's name. When the bill comes to Parliament, please back the right to addiction recovery bill. I call Michael Marra to be followed by Stuart McMillan in around six minutes, Mr Marra. The minister is absolutely right to open today's debate by saying that stigma kills. Stigma raises barriers to access and support and treatment. Stigma extinguishes the hope that is necessary to seek support and treatment. It dehumanises others. It makes all of us deaf to calls for help. It makes us blind to our neighbours. It closes our minds and it hardens our hearts. Stigma does mean that more and more Scots will die. Stigma is based on misunderstanding, on a preconception that those who suffer with problem-substance use are not victims of circumstance or of grotesque poverty, of violent abuse and of continued exploitation by unscrupulous dealers of misery. The change of culture is necessary and nowhere more so than in my home city of Dundee. The five-year rolling average death rate between 2017 and 2021 for Dundee was the highest in Scotland, standing at over 45 deaths per 100,000 population. That is a rolling crisis, with little real progress evident. Nicola Sturgeon announced the national mission on drugs on 20 January 2021. That was nearly two years ago, 673 days. The Dundee Drugs Commission launched their first report, titled Responding to drug use with kindness, compassion and hope, in August 2019. That very name shows the importance they placed on tackling stigma in our city and crucially in our services. That report highlighted the need to tackle stigma. It called on the authorities to, and I quote, challenge and eliminate stigma towards people who experience problems with drugs and their families across Dundee to ensure that everyone is treated in a professional and respectful manner. However, in the follow-up report more than two years on, the commission recognised the efforts of the third sector in tackling stigma. The commission went on to admonish the approach of key public services for their failure to tackle stigma, saying that we have seen or heard little evidence to indicate that the recommendations have been progressed. The Government itself has been talking about tackling stigma for over two years. The Government's drugs death task force published a strategy to address the stigmatisation of people and communities affected by drug use on 30 July 2020. What progress has been made on the delivery of that strategy? How is it being measured? Two years on, I am afraid that the motion today could be read as little more than platitudes. That lack of progress can only really be measured in deaths, year on year, person by person. I would suggest that one indicator that could be measured would be those that are accessing services, because the most direct form of stigmatisation is how people feel when they do try to access services. Are they welcome? Are they treated as equals? The central critique of the Dundee Drugs Commission was of substance misuse services that were punitive, that treated clients as incapable, as lesser, and that structured policies and treatment plans accordingly. Tackling stigma really requires fundamental service reform. Yet, Presiding Officer, where are we on reform in Dundee? Well, we have no independent chair of the ADP, the last one resigned months ago, and no one has told us why. Perhaps the minister has asked him and could tell the chamber. The lack of leadership from ADPs was of course criticised by Audit Scotland in March of this year. That is not a problem that is unique to Dundee, but our local ADP is quite literally without any independent leadership, which we were promised. There has been no response from the ADP or the City Council or NHS Tayside to the second report of the Dundee Drugs Commission. That response should have appeared in the summer, yet here we are, nothing. I should remind the chamber of the contents of that second report of the Dundee Drugs Commission, which said almost nothing had been done to implement its first report. It had to recommend again that all core and funded services should be tasked by the drug and alcohol partnership with developing a plan for combating stigma and discrimination based on the core values of kindness, compassion and hope. Nothing. No strategy, no delivery plan, not even a response. Presiding officers, adverts on Dundee bus shelters is not enough to tackle stigma. Nowhere near enough. This motion is not enough. Dundee City Council is not doing enough, NHS Tayside is not doing enough and this Government is not doing enough. Frankly, in her closing speech it would be of far more use if the minister could give us a proper update on those health boards like Tayside under ministerial direction. What are the names of the single figures now in place who are responsible for mat standard delivery, as highlighted in Labour's amendment? Where are the delivery plans? Where are the timescales? When will those individuals be held accountable in front of councillors and in front of MSPs? When, when, when will we see change? Thank you, Mr Marra. I now call Stuart McMillan, who is the final contributor in the open debate. Stuart McMillan joins us online for around six minutes. Mr McMillan. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. At the outset, I would like to refer members to my register of interests as the vice-chair of moving on, Inverclyde, a local addiction service. Once again, I invite the minister to go and visit the service. I also note that Paul Cain visited the service heller this year and it was certainly very impressed by the work of the staff, their expertise and also the organisation as a whole. I know that that certainly goes down very well with all the staff and maybe the board members. Like others, I have previously raised the issue about stigma in the chamber. It is undeniably one of the key barriers to helping people living with addiction. I welcomed the stigma action plan and I will read it carefully when it is published. I am sure that I and others will have questions about it when it is published on the trust. It will help towards challenging the stigma that people with problem-drud use actually face. Fundamentally, I believe a societal change is needed when it comes to the issue of stigma. As the chamber has debated before, tackling stigma head-on is vital so that people can actually move towards recovery. Problematic substance use is a health condition, but the stigma associated with it can have that detrimental consequence for the individual but also for their families and also the wider community. For example, people may not acknowledge their problem for fear of being judged and, as a result, not actually go and want to seek the help and support that they need. The Drug Desk Task Force, which the minister has spoken about, developed a stigma charter that all organisations, including businesses and community groups, can use. That aims to create a Scotland that is free from stigma in order to support a public health approach to problematic substance use. I welcome the national mission and the £250 million funding over this Parliament. In particular, I welcome the move to a five-year funding cycle for eligible third sector and grassroots organisations that really are at the forefront of saving lives. This is something that, once again, I and others across the chamber have highlighted in previous debates. The partnership working is vital to help to provide solutions to help those with addictions. I know that third sector organisations are crucial in that service delivery, not only from the organisation that I am involved with but also from other local organisations, a number cloud, but across Scotland. Therefore, the five-year funding cycle for organisations will be hugely important in helping them plan their services and also how they can help with the issue of dealing with stigma. However, a drug's death is a tragedy and I put on record my condolences to the families of those who have sadly lost a loved one. During recovery month in September, I attended a number of local events with the most poignant being the candle at vigil held in Greenock. Primarily about providing a space for people to remember those who have lost their lives through problem substance use. Attendees heard first hand some of the real life stories of those who are on recovery or are still living with drug dependency. I mentioned this event as one of the key points raised that evening was the issue of dealing with stigma. Stigma is damaging. As I said a few moments ago, not only to the individual in terms of their mental health and sense of self-worth, but it does also discourage them from coming forward. I know that the drug's death task force has developed the stigma strategy which identifies actions that will help reduce stigma. The task force members with lived and living experience are also leading the development of a stigma charter that will challenge all of us to continue to consider how we can work together individually to create a stigma-free Scotland. However, I'm saying also dealing with stigma is in my opinion one of the key issues we as a society face in dealing with problem drug use and how it affects every single community in the country. I don't disagree with Labour's amendment with regards to stigma disproportionately impacting on the most deprived communities and also agree that tackling this issue of poverty, deprivation and health inequalities is also crucial. I need to highlight though that drug dependency can affect anyone. We know that certain factors like adverse childhood experiences can impact on someone's likelihood of developing problem substance use, but it's also not always as clear-cut as that. I know that in recent months a growing number of people living with alcohol dependency have actually presented that moving on in work-like. Now welcome the reduction in drugs deaths reported in Inverclyde from 33 to 16, however this is still 16 deaths to many presenting officer. One thing I have went to locally is the growing partnership approach that really is taking place. Now much of this came about as the Inverclyde drug strategy changed a few years ago and it's become far more inclusive and recognises what the public and third sectors can bring to the table together to actually help save lives. This can only be a positive when dealing with the many economic and social challenges Inverclyde actually faces. I do have a concern with the cost of living crisis and the many economic challenges ahead that we may see a return to a number of increasing deaths. I certainly hope that I am wrong in that. Finally on the point of the Tory amendment today just one point I want to highlight and that's that the issue regarding the proposed bill that's been spoken about today and also in the past. Instead of playing politics on such a vital issue I suggest that the member who wishes to bring the bill forward goes through the parliamentary process, then publish the bill so that every single one of us in this chamber can read it and then we can make up our own minds. The detail of any bill is important and asking for a blanket support of something without reading the details is frankly taking the public and those who need the assistance for granted. Presiding Officer Angela Constance has been consistent since we became the minister. The drugs death crisis Scotland faces is not going to be solved overnight. The rollout of the national mission and its local implementation are vital therefore to saving more lives and tackling stigma will play an important role in delivering that outcome. Thank you Mr McMillan. We now move to the closing speeches and I call Paul O'Kane for in six minutes. In rising to close for Scottish Labour I reflect that today's debate has been an important opportunity to discuss a range of issues related to the national drugs mission and the progress that we all want to see in eradicating stigma around those issues because we know that stigma impacts the likelihood of an individual asking for the help that they need to start the process of rehabilitation following periods of addiction. As we've heard from so many colleagues across the chamber today it is crucial that we work to eradicate stigma around drug addiction and drugs death and shift attitudes to ensure a more meaningful, open and compassionate discussion as we seek to help prevent more drugs death and aid more people on their recovery journey. I think in doing so we have to at the outset recognise the tragic loss of so many lives. Letters all remember again in this place that these are not just numbers, they are people who lived in our communities, they are very often family, friends and neighbours and I think that we must start with that at the core of our approach. I was heartened to hear so many colleagues mention that, indeed Collette Stevenson, I thought spoke particularly powerfully in that regard today. The reality is that we must take a different approach when it comes to looking at stigma and we must take a root and branch look at where stigma arises and where the wider issues with drugs arise. Our approach must be focused on treating the deep-rooted socioeconomic factors that lead to drug use, a holistic approach that is rooted in public health. The evidence is clear that the most deprived communities are those in which are most impacted and have many issues to deal with. I think that we heard from Katie Clark in particular and other colleagues across the chamber about that sense of endemic poverty, that real structural challenge that exists in so many communities. Most public health experts would say that we must tackle those issues at the very root in order to make the most change. We know that data from the National Records of Scotland has shown that you are 15 times more likely to die of a drug-related incident if you live in one of the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas. Tragically, more than 12,000 people have lost their lives to drugs since 2007, leaving behind thousands of parents, children and friends heartbroken. We have heard contributions today around the importance of services to support recovery, particularly the importance of rehabilitation that is person-centred but can also be flexible to meet people where they are. It is fair that we have also heard that it can often be contradictory to assert commitments to tackling stigma, to help people to access support services, but the reality is that there is a reduction in the support services that are available due to budgets in health and social care reducing and budgets in local government being cut as well. Clare Baker was right to highlight that we need to see greater investment, greater pace of change from this Government because it is their responsibility to demonstrate that progress so that everybody can have confidence in the work of the national mission. We have also heard from colleagues. I will take Emma Harper. Thanks very much, Pauline Cynon. I really appreciate you giving me time. We have not really talked this afternoon about the role of media, a role of journalist in tackling stigma. For me personally, it was about stigmatising images that were used in print media. Does the member agree that this is something that we could really seek, our journalist, to help support as well? I thank Emma Harper for that important intervention. I think that that is absolutely crucial. The reality that we know over many years is that the media has got this wrong. I think that Emma Harper is right to raise the images that are used around drug use, particularly the images of syringes and spoons and those sorts of things, but also the language that is used. I think that Emma Harper's contribution made this point around educating people about the words that we use, how we refer to people and trying to look at everyone as a human being and to see their inert dignity and to respect that. I think that that is absolutely important and something that I think that we would all want to reflect on and encourage all parts of our society to move forward with. We have heard contributions today about the importance of the voluntary sector and the organisations that are embedded in communities, delivering vital support to help people with addiction. Alex Cole-Hamilton was right to reference the many campaigners and community organisations that work in this space, particularly around issues such as the provision of safe consumption. Stuart McMillan mentioned moving on inverclyde, which I know is extremely important to him. He has served on their board for many years. I had the pleasure of visiting moving on inverclyde in the summer, which is a community-based support service that helps people affected by problematic drug use. Taking the time over a cup of tea to speak to people about their lived experience, to talk about their journey, was hugely powerful for me and helped to open my mind in many ways to the different experiences that people have. I am sure that Stuart McMillan will continue over many years to work with moving on, and I hope to work together with him in that regard. It is clear that our third sector needs more support. SCVO has revealed that third sector and voluntary organisations are facing funding crises when it comes to the support that they can offer. We need to ensure that they can keep the lights on and the doors open to be able to offer vital support. That is true more broadly of public services. My colleague Michael Marra spoke powerfully about ensuring that people can feel respected, feel valued, are met as human beings, not perceived just by their frailties or their failures, as very often they feel stigmatised in that space, and that we have public services that, crucially, are person-centred and focused. Miles Briggs also, as I thought, brought an important contribution on housing to the chamber. The principle of housing first is, of course, right, but that cannot just be a headline. It needs to be about the meaningful support that goes in behind that to ensure that people are not stigmatised where they live, because we all know, I am sure, from our case work that very often we can hear really problematic language and concerns raised in that space as well. I am conscious of time, Presiding Officer. I think that if we are all serious about tackling the drug crisis in Scotland, we do need to take a public health approach, and it has to be a response that meets the need. A response that mobilises finance and resources quickly to meet the challenges, that acknowledges the scale of the emergency, but I think at its heart a response that puts compassion and humanity at the core. We often discuss and debate Scotland's terribly sad and shameful record on drug-related deaths. Last year we lost 1,330 Scots, lives cut short, families torn apart. Scotland still has the highest drug death rate in Europe, and, as Sue Webber reminds us, it is 3.7 times higher than the UK as a whole. It is no exaggeration to say that, under the SNP, drug-related deaths have spiralled out of control. It is clear that the SNP strategy to help those struggling with addictions has failed, and we cannot go on like this. The drug death stats expose serious inequalities, and, as Paul O'Kane said in his remarks, people in the most deprived areas were more than 15 times more likely to die from drugs misuse. Sadly, last year, half of the deaths of those experiencing homelessness were drug-related. While Scotland's poly-drug habit, mixing street drugs with alcohol and prescription pills, is causing 92 per cent of all drug deaths, we agree with the Minister that stigma is a problem. Stigma can prevent people from seeking the help and support that they need, and using language that dehumanises people is harmful. I agree with Gillian Mackay who said that stigma can kill. To remove stigma, we need a compassionate approach with an effective strategy that provides solutions to what is a health issue. I am not convinced that drug consumption rooms located in our communities will help to remove the stigma, and wonder if that could do the opposite. That said, I am open to a pilot project, so we can observe and measure the effectiveness and acceptance of consumption rooms in the Scottish context. I thank Dr Gohani for giving me what he said, though that consumption facilities can take many forms and can also be based around some of the community support that I spoke about, where there is a holistic model in which people can receive different levels of support and use of safe consumption facilities. My worry is that it will increase the stigma, but, as I said, I am open to a pilot to see what it is like in the Scottish context. However, we need to bring the public with us. I believe that we can achieve that if we are also more effective at tackling those who prey on those with addictions. We need more compassion for those addicted to drugs and more convictions for those who profit from misery. We must strengthen our response across the drug supply chain, making Scotland a significant harder place for organised crime groups to operate. I am saddened that the Scottish National Party Government refused to sign up to Project ADDAR, a UK Government scheme to help tackle drug dealing and organised crime. Project ADDAR helps to seize 27 million benzodiazepine tablets that were destined for Scotland. In terms of health intervention, what do the Scottish Conservatives propose? We are calling on the SNP Government to listen to front-line experts and back our right to recovery bill, which would guarantee treatment for those in most need. As Stuart McMillan would be glad to know, our bill is indeed heading through the parliamentary process. The key principle of our proposed right to recovery bill is to ensure that everybody who seeks treatment for addiction can access the necessary addiction treatment that they require. There are many options, including community-based short- and long-term residential rehabilitation, community-based and residential detox, stabilisation services and substitute prescribing services. That will ensure that individuals may access a preferred treatment option unless it is deemed harmful by a medical professional. Turning to some of our other comments that we have had, Sue Webber spoke of a vast gap between what is said and what is delivered on the ground. Plus, with everyone being unique, we need tailored support packages, especially for women with kids. Claire Baker goes on to say that we have a postcode lottery of treatment and has looked to start helping herself by commendably undertaking naloxone training. Alex Cole-Hamilton tells us of the SNP Government's slashing funding that exacerbates the postcode lottery of treatment and asks about drug testing, such as I believe that is being considered at Glastonbury this year. Miles Briggs and Emma Harper both spoke about derogatory terms and how that contributes to stigma. Miles Briggs also went on to talk about how having support and extra care would make a huge difference with Shelter Scotland saying that the situation pointed towards public services failing people and a broken housing system. Specifically about Hepatitis C in our motion, Miles Briggs goes on, who is also our Hep C champion, to point out that Scotland were once a world leader at a eradication, but we seem to have lost our way. Willie Coffey in his misjudged comments perhaps needs to listen to the words of his leader who stated that the SNP took their eye off the ball and also to Michael Marra, whose passionate explanation of the lack of action happening in Dundee. Annie Wells rightly reminded us Scotland is suffering a drug deaths crisis. Annie visited Favour UK for the one-year launch, and we all share the frustration in our lack of action with the current system being broken and with barriers to treatment. Favour UK say, you talk, we die. Here in Scotland, in fact, a crisis in Scotland is a crisis in Scotland. Across the UK, we need to create a system that treats addiction as a chronic health condition. No one should fall through the gaps and miss out on treatment they need, and there should be no stigma attached to addiction. The Scottish drug deaths task force provides such an approach that would stop people struggling with deaths, with drug use being turned away from service providers. That is why we call on the Scottish Government to back the proposed Right to Addiction and Recovery Scotland Bill, which would enshrine in law a right to treatment so that all those affected by addiction in Scotland can get the support that they need. I remind members of my register of interests as a practicing anxious doctor. In my opening remarks, I spoke of the consequences of leaving stigma unchallenged as did all members around the chamber today. We all acknowledge the risks of stigma becoming embedded not just in society but in services. Tackling stigma is key to public service reform and the reform of both drug and alcohol services but also wider public sector response. We do, of course, as part of our actions flown from a proposed stigma action plan, that this is about really getting underneath the skin and interrogating policy and practice in terms of what is delivered on the ground. Today, I can accept the amendment from the Labour Party. I acknowledge the wider range of harms of drugs beyond those where drug overdose is the cause of death. My officials will, of course, liaise with the National Records Scotland and Public Health Scotland in and around the linkage of drug-related health data and public health intelligence, and we will report back to colleagues. That is quite difficult terrain given the impact of stigma, so sometimes people with particular conditions do not always acknowledge for understandable reasons their drug or alcohol use, and often that is established when it is, sadly, too late. In and around introducing the treatment target is action that I have taken, and members will be able to see through the national mission plan that we published and also the national mission annual report about how we are measuring and tracking and monitoring progress with the central aim of getting more people into treatment. I will, of course. Miles Briggs. The minister, and I take it that she has had an opportunity to read face and voices of recovery reports. It is an excellent report, and I congratulate them on that, but it asks for a clear definition of residential rehabilitation to be introduced and also for the introduction of a centralised referral pathway and funding system. Is that something that the minister is looking at and taking away as a recommendation? I read many excellent reports drafted by our very diverse third sector community and drug and alcohol sector. I politely and kindly say to Mr Briggs that we indeed have a very clear definition of residential rehabilitation, and that work was undertaken before my time as Minister for Drugs Policy under the leadership of Dr David McCartney in terms of the work that has still been done under the residential rehabilitation development working group. The point about working towards more national approaches, particularly in and around what is possible around national and regional procurement frameworks, is something that we are actively engaged with. I agree with much of what is in the amendment by the Conservatives. I am glad that they have expressed support for the recommendations made by the drug deaths task force. I very much hope that includes all those task force recommendations about how there needs to be a public health approach to drug use within our criminal justice system and that we cannot punish people out of addiction, particularly those people with multiple complex needs. As I have always said in terms of any proposition, any member's bill, most certainly will be given a fair and sympathetic hearing by me. I have no reason to do otherwise. There will, of course, be a parliamentary process for any bill, whether it is a member's bill or, indeed, a Government bill. In the meantime, the human rights bill consultation will take place next year. The human rights bill will be introduced in this parliamentary session, and that will give effect, as far as possible, with individual components in Scots law to a range of internationally recognised human rights, such as the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to adequate housing, and the right to an adequate standard of living. Of course, the national collaborative will set out how the rights to be included in the human rights bill can be effectively implemented for people who use drugs. The solutions here very much lie with the lived and lived experience communities. I am really pleased that members have acknowledged the Scottish Government investment, not just in Harper House but the other endeavours that we have made to increase provision for women in terms of River Garden at Ock and Crew in Ayrshire and the support to Aberlour Children's charity. I am sure that we will all be positive advocates for Harper House and do our bit of raising awareness of this fantastic therapeutic facility that is part of this Government and this Parliament's commitment to keep the promise and to keep families together. Funding, Presiding Officer, is absolutely important. Of course, it was Auditor General admittedly earlier this year who says that, as a result of the national mission, there had been an increase in 67 per cent in real terms in terms of funding allocated. Of course, we are all living with the consequences of inflation. We also have ensured that there are indeed residential care pathways in every local area. In terms of funding, we have very much taken a belt embraces approach. I am very grateful for the minister for taking my intervention. I am very gratified, as is my party, in the investment that the Government is making in residential care pathways rehabilitation, in particular for those mothers with small children affected by substance use. Residential care pathways are meaningless unless stabilisation services are adequate to get people into those pathways. Can the minister tell the chamber a little bit about the investment that she is making? I am absolutely committed to filling that gap in our current service provision. We, of course, currently invest around £1 million in existing stabilisation services. Although stabilisation services are very distinct to residential rehabilitation, we will come forward with an update proposition as part of our overall response to the task force. The point that I wanted to make about belt embraces to our funding approach is that, as well as giving continuity to local areas, we are also directly funding 200 plus projects, the length and breadth of Scotland, that there is a wide range of funds available for our wonderful voluntary sector to tap into. Some of the funding attached to the implementation of MAT standards is directly supporting nearly 100 additional posts in the sector. Of course, as members—actually, I am going to move on because I am really short of time, I have a number of members to reply to yourself included. As a number of members have acknowledged that we have laid groundwork for safer drug consumption facilities, there would of course have been an easier way to do all that, but we are where we are and we are looking at capturing this within our existing powers. Can I say to Clare Baker that families will absolutely be part of the stigma action plan? Of course, there is the investment in action that we are already taking around family inclusive practice and the whole family approach. Emma Harper, I would be delighted to engage with her further because there are important issues that she raises around supporting the workforce within and outwith drug and alcohol services and whether that is around trauma-informed approaches or stigma modules. I think that one of the things that Miles Briggs touched upon and actually Michael Marra did also—sorry, Miles Briggs spoke about this in the terms of the flexibility of housing policies, and I think that this is an important point that, when it comes to the allocation of accommodation that policies need to be flexible, because our challenge through our work on stigma is when people say, oh no, we don't discriminate, we will be saying well, demonstrate it, prove it, prove how you don't discriminate against the most marginalised and stigmatised community in Scotland, because this is both a matter, yes, of equality, but also of equity, and different people need different levels of support. We will also be saying, yes, show us your policy, yes, show us your data, but we also want to know what the lived and living experience community are saying on the ground about their treatment and how your services make people feel and how your services are or are not supporting people into treatment or recovery. I think that Willie Coffey, in many ways, while he generated a bit of debate, said it well when this is about hope, and I remember very well the visit to Recovery Enterprise Scotland, the time we had together there. I remember the recovery walk in Kilmarnock, where I seen for myself some of the projects, including the recovery hub, who have received funding as a result of that national mission endeavour, but the visibility of the recovery community here is absolutely essential, because the evidence shows that to reduce stigma, the best way to reduce stigma is to contact with people with lived and living experience, because that has the best long-term effect on reducing stigma. Once again, I thank all members genuinely for their contribution, although there is no aspect of the national mission to save and improve lives that should be considered in isolation if we are to secure that all government, all Scotland response to tackling drug deaths. I brought forward this debate today to ensure that all members were involved before we finalised the stigma action plan, before we finalised our response to the drug deaths task force, which will be published together to demonstrate exactly how we are turning words into action, because tackling stigma is cross-cutting its core, and we are going to get under the skin of the many challenges we face. That concludes the debate on the national drugs mission, taking concrete action to tackle stigma. It is now time to move on to the next item of business, and there are three questions to be put as a result of today's business. The first is the amendment 6.924.1, in the name of Sue Weber, which seeks to amend motion 6.924, in the name of Angela Constance, on the national drugs mission, taking concrete action to tackle stigma, be agreed. Are we all agreed? The Parliament is not agreed. Therefore, we will move to a vote, and there will be a short suspension to allow members to access the digital voting system.