Seòmar agus comataidhean

I will bring Andrew Morrison in briefly to add any thoughts that he has. We are significantly over time, and I am conscious that I still have to get to Pam Gosal.

Natalie Don has one further question that she would like to ask on the back of that.

I will move on to theme 4 because we still have two themes to get through and our time is running short. Theme 4 is about the Nationality and Borders Bill.

We need somebody to start us off, so I will go to Susan Aitken, whose hand I can see.

That might need to be a question for Susan Aitken.

I do not know whether you want to come in on that, Councillor Aitken. I thought that Andrew Morrison wanted to come in, but that was for the previous point.

I think that Pat Togher wants to come in on that point.

I welcome David Strang to his role.

We know that there are strong links between poverty, deprivation, inequalities and problem drug use. In Scotland, we can trace that back to the economic policies of the 1980s. The people who grew up during that period, who are now in their late 40s and early 50s—my age cohort—and who live in deprived areas have the highest risk of drug deaths. How crucial is the Scottish Government’s anti-poverty work to tackling the drug deaths crisis, and do you recognise the need to work across policy areas and Government departments, local authorities and the third sector? You have already touched on that a bit, but I want to gather your thoughts on that area.

We heard from Minister Kit Malthouse that the UK Government is still not convinced about the use of safer consumption facilities for public health purposes. What is your feeling about that? In my experience, such facilities are a gateway for people to access services. People who might be afraid to come forward or reach out in other ways can be signposted in a setting where they are actually looked after and kept safe—and, hopefully, kept alive if something terrible happens. What are your thoughts on the use of safer consumption facilities as a public health and safety measure within the basket of measures that we are convening?

As a member of the Scotland prevention review group, I understand the clear need to prevent homelessness in the first place, and I am glad to see that a public consultation is under way on the prevention duties. Minister, do you, like me, recognise the need for wider public bodies to have a duty to ask and to act when it comes to preventing homelessness, and to work across departments and sectors to support individuals and families? How do you see such an approach helping to reduce drug deaths and the devastation that they cause?