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Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) most recent report confirmed that 461 statutory-funded placements were approved in the second half of the 2023-24 financial year alone, with 938 placements approved for the year overall. This indicates that we are already on track to meet our commitment of 1000 people accessing statutory-funded residential rehab in 2026 (an increase of 300%).

While the PHS statistics indicate welcome progress, we recognise the scale of the challenge that we continue to face and are determined to do more.

We are working with ADPs to aid the development of clear pathways into residential rehabilitation across the country, and the establishment of pathway development clusters by Healthcare Improvement Scotland has resulted in 29/30 ADPs publishing their pathways. This will help facilitate a further increase to statutory funded placements and support our aim of meeting the final target before the end of the National Mission in March 2026.

We have responded to calls for more transparency and accountability by working with Public Health Scotland to track the number of residential rehab placements that ADPs have funded and the development of a National Core Minimum Dataset that will provide data not only on the number of publicly funded placements but also with time will publish insights on outcomes from placements in Residential Rehab.

This will provide the Scottish Government with a clear line of sight on how residential rehab funding is being spent across the country and help to further the evidence base for this treatment model.

The Scottish Government remains committed to addressing the twin public health emergencies on alcohol and drugs and recognises the key role treatment and recovery services play.

We have responded to calls for more transparency and accountability by commissioning Public Health Scotland to carry out an independent evaluation of the Residential Rehabilitation programme as part of the wider evaluation of the National Mission.

By collecting and publishing robust data, we will be able to increase the evidence base that will help us to best direct financial resource. This improved understanding means that more people will be able to access the treatment type that is right for them at the right time.

The Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group defines residential rehab as facilities offering programmes which aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle and to be re-integrated into society, provide intensive psychosocial support and a structured programme of daily activities, and which residents are required to attend over a fixed period of time.

The Scottish Government recognises that diversity of treatment options is important to empower individuals to have more choice and to meet the needs of individuals seeking different types of recovery, and this includes taking a person-centred approach to treatment length.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) follows statistical disclosure control (SDC) when publishing data, including those submitted for their most recent report on statutory-funded residential rehabilitation placements.

PHS applies the SDC to data due to the sensitive nature of the topic, and to reduce the risk of identifying individuals, (especially those from small geographic areas) who in this case were the number of people accessing residential rehabilitation for substance use in River Garden.

The data was therefore suppressed and an asterisk used to denote this in the published report.

The Scottish Government will address the impact of changes to service provision on access and availability to alcohol and drug recovery services by continuing to ensure that the specific needs of women are considered in the design and delivery of services, and that a gendered approach is taken in all new or developing initiatives across the National Mission to reduce deaths and improve lives.

The Scottish Government provided specific funding of around £1.5m per year to Glasgow City Council to support the 218 Service. As a result of that funding relationship, Glasgow informed the Scottish Government of its plans to re-tender the service last year and discussions took place to confirm that the funding would still be available following that exercise.

Glasgow City Council has provided assurances that it worked closely with Turning Point Scotland to support individuals in transitioning to other support arrangements and that other services, including residential placements, are available to support people with similar needs. In particular, it has confirmed that all 218 service residents had moved on from the service as of 31 January 2024 – some residents naturally came to the end of their stay, while others moved back to their own tenancy or to accommodation with support.

Public Health Scotland worked in close consultation with key stakeholders to develop the core minimum dataset, which will form the basis for the monitoring of residential rehabilitation. Early versions of the dataset were shared with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Advisory Group (MERAG) and the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group (RRDWG), which have representatives from groups such as individuals with experience, families and recovery organisations.

Current residential rehabilitation clients were given the opportunity to complete a survey to provide details of their own experience. Qualitative research was also undertaken with people with lived experience of having accessed residential rehabilitation to explore their experiences of the pathways into, through and out of this form of treatment.

The Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group defines residential rehab as facilities offering programmes which aim to support individuals to attain an alcohol or drug-free lifestyle and to be re-integrated into society, provide intensive psychosocial support and a structured programme of daily activities, and which residents are required to attend over a fixed period of time.

The Scottish Government recognises that diversity of treatment options is important to empower individuals to have more choice and to meet the needs of individuals seeking different types of recovery, and this includes taking a person-centred approach to the duration of treatment.

A breakdown of how funding is allocated to ADPs since 2017 can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/alcohol-and-drug-partnerships-funding-allocations/