The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 822 contributions
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 14 September 2021
Angela Constance
We know from that information that 13 per cent of beds that were accessed in that timeframe came from alcohol and drug partnership funding, and that there were also publicly funded places from housing benefit and social security. People would be accessing private and charitable funding as well.
Regarding the first quarter of this calendar year, you might recall that we published information on how the emergency funding was used. In the period from January to March, we quickly initiated £5 million out the door, and £3 million of that went to ADPs. Some of that money was for a separate improvement fund that people could apply for. There was also a grass-roots fund. We published information on how ADPs allocated that money, so that is available. We are currently gathering further information from ADPs and, again, we will make that available.
As for what we know about current capacity, earlier this year we published information on how, overall, the 20 facilities in Scotland were operating at about two-thirds capacity, so we know that there is capacity there to be utilised. I have given a commitment to return to Parliament with our milestones over the next five years. That is about how to improve access—and, as Ms Wells rightly points out, it is also about the extent to which we will improve capacity over the next five years. We will come to Parliament with much more detail on that.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 14 September 2021
Angela Constance
Social isolation is also a public health issue. Committee members might be aware that a few years back the Government introduced a tackling isolation and loneliness strategy, and there is a range of investments and funds around that.
With regard to tackling drug-related deaths, I have to point to the lived experience and recovery community, because much of what they do is based on their own, real-life experience and the expertise that they bring to the community.
Mobilising the lived-experience community can help to reach people that services might struggle to reach. The relationship aspect of support is crucially important. The peer navigator system that Medics Against Violence have been strong proponents of in our prisons and hospitals is also really important. Peer navigators with lived experience from organisations such as Aid & Abet make contact with people when they come into police custody. All of that is about making connections and building relationships with people to support and help them in their onward journey, and it goes along with referring them to services.