The Scottish Government has announced £12.7 million in additional funding to address the harm associated with drug or alcohol use.
Included in the Scottish Budget Statement, the increase in spending will support the work of the Drugs Deaths Taskforce to deliver innovative projects, test new approaches and develop a national pathway for Opiate Substitute Therapy.
Responding to the decision, David Liddell, CEO of Scottish Drugs Forum, said:
“This investment is hugely welcome. There is evidence of innovative work being done on a small scale in various parts of Scotland and this investment gives the opportunity to scale these up.
“We need more people with a drug problem to be in high quality treatment and receiving the support they need. Only then can we begin to significantly reduce drug-related deaths in Scotland.”
Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, said:
“The Scottish Budget continues to shift the balance of care towards primary, social and community care and to support our focus on mental health.
“It ensures that we remain on track to deliver more than half of frontline NHS spending in community health services by the end of this Parliament, continuing our twin approach of investment and reform.
“Our budget will see more than £9.4 billion of investment in health and social care partnerships. It will also increase the Scottish Government’s direct investment in addressing the harm and deaths caused by the misuse of drugs by almost 60% in 2020-21.”
The 2020-21 Scottish Budget also includes:
- £15.2 billion funding in total for the Health and Sport portfolio
- more than £9.4 billion invested in health and social partnerships
- £454 million increase (4.2%) increase to frontline NHS Board funding
- the uplift includes an additional £17 million in NRAC funding to ensure no Board is further than 0.8% from its target funding allocation
- more than £200 million investment in the Baird and Anchor Hospital to deliver a new family hospital and care centre in Aberdeen
- £28 million increase for mental health and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
- more than £13 million for new radiotherapy equipment to support the Scottish Government’s cancer strategy