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I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Following the introduction of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, SPS took the decision to not seek to amend its mandatory drug testing policy to include testing for psychoactive substances. This was due to the continual changing compounds used within psychoactive substances and remains the position to date.

By working closely with partners such as Police Scotland, SPS must and does remain vigilant to the continuously evolving nature of drug use to ensure our use of technology and tactical measures remain current, adaptable, and capable of detecting and preventing drugs from entering our prisons; and we continue to consider what testing options may be most effective for the SPS to use.

SPS will continue to work with partners to prevent the introduction of contraband and seek convictions where appropriate.

The Scottish Government recognises the work being done by local services, including community and grass roots organisations, in supporting individuals affected by the physical and mental side effects of methadone use as an evidence-based first line treatment option.

To ensure local services are focused on the needs of people the Scottish Government continues to provide record levels of funding, particularly through our National Mission and through the implementation of our Cross-Government Plan which includes the implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards and the launch in December of the Charter of Rights for people affected by substance use.

In accordance with codes of practice and clinical guidelines, administration of methadone is usually supervised to ensure it is not misused. Supervised administration is in place for community pharmacies, justice settings and in third sector services, including homelessness settings.

NRS statistics on Drug Related Deaths published in 2024 show an increasing number of cases where Methadone is implicated. The statistics also show that poly-drug use is one of the most significant challenges faced by Scotland, with methadone included in poly-drug use.

However, through the implementation of the MAT standards, significant numbers of people on OST treatment are choosing to move onto long-acting injectable buprenorphine (brand name Buvidal). The Scottish Government continues to support the availability of Buvidal as a choice for people where its use is more clinically appropriate than methadone or other alternatives.

The Scottish Government has committed to full implementation of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards 1-10 in community and justice settings by April 2025, and for this implementation to be sustained by April 2026.

The implementation of the MAT standards is being supported and monitored by Public Health Scotland, who publish an annual benchmarking report each June. And the requirement for quarterly progress update reports to SG from local areas, against their Implementation Plan, is continuing.

Glasgow City Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) has hosted 12 local community drop in engagement sessions within the Calton and surrounding area focused on allowing local residents the opportunity to raise concerns, ask questions and engage with the project leads. Local residents who use drugs and family members were also included. The drop in sessions were advertised locally via posters, via leaflet drop and via social media. Questions from the sessions informed a Frequently Asked Questions document (available here - SDCF - Frequently asked questions) and Glasgow ADP also created a ‘You Said We did’ document to demonstrate the actions taken following feedback which is shared at all in-person sessions.

These sessions were in addition to several attendances by the ADP at Community Council meetings, local Area Partnership meetings, and Local Engagement Forum meetings.

To allow ongoing community engagement, the ADP have also established the Thistle Community Forum, including local residents, local business, Police Scotland, the Recovery Community and other key stakeholders which will support people to raise concerns and facilitate a coordinated response.

In addition, Glasgow City Council organised 2 additional deep cleans of the surrounding area in response to local residents complaints about the poor state of the streets. The independent evaluation researchers were invited to attend in response to questions about how the impact of the service on the local community would be measured.

Glasgow City ADP will continue to engage with local residents, businesses and their staff in the run up to the opening of the facility and once it is established.

Tackling health inequalities and improving life expectancy remain clear aims of the Scottish Government. To achieve this, we are taking forward wide-ranging action targeted to support communities most in need and address the root causes of inequality; which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic and other recent economic shocks.

This includes allocating around £3 billion a year since 2022-23 to tackle poverty and protect people during the ongoing cost-of-living crisis - as well as initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles through tobacco control, preventing alcohol related harm, promoting healthy eating and physical activity. Reinforced by targeted action through our Women’s Health Plan, which clearly sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness across women’s health, improving access to healthcare for women across their lives and tackling inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls.

We are also working with our partners to develop a Population Health Framework, to take a cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve the key building blocks of health including: good early years and education; good work and income; healthy places; and equitable health care. With an overarching ambition to accelerate the recovery and improvement of population health in Scotland with a focus on a whole system approach to preventative action.

In November 2021, the former Minister for Drugs Policy announced a commitment to increase the number of people publicly funded to go through residential rehab per year by 300% to 1,000 by 2026.

The Scottish Government is working closely with key stakeholders, including NHS Scotland and third sector to ensure that health professionals embed conversations about alcohol consumption and the risk it carries in developing a range of cancers, for example through Alcohol Brief Interventions, into their daily practices. The Scottish Government also worked closely with Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) to disseminate SHAAP’s guidance, highlighting the link between alcohol and cancer, to health professionals across Scotland.

Cancer remains a national priority, within the Scottish Government and across NHS Scotland. That is why we published our Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 along with an initial three year Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 in June 2023.

Through promoting healthy living by reducing alcohol misuse we can reduce the risk of developing some cancers. The Scottish Government published our Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 and initial Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-2026 in June 2023. There are specific actions in the action plan aimed at reducing the consumption of alcohol.

A Public Health Scotland evaluation estimated that our world-leading Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to tackling health inequalities. We introduced an increase to MUP in September 2024.

We have commissioned Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence on restricting alcohol marketing and advertising. We will progress work in areas where evidence supports further action to address alcohol misuse and improve population health.