Question reference: S5W-31303
- Asked by: Richard Leonard, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 20 August 2020
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 10 September 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to figures suggesting that drug deaths in Scotland have risen by more than three times since 2005, and have been the world's worst since November 2008.
Answer
National Records of Scotland are responsible for publishing annual data on drug related deaths. The most recently published report reports on deaths in 2018. Information within the report confirms a total of 1187 drug related deaths in 2018.
I do not recognise the claim that Scotland has had the worst number of drug related deaths since November 2008 and I am not aware of any data that would indicate this. Data does show, however, that the number of drug deaths in Scotland has been on an upward trajectory since data collection began in 1992.
The number of drug related deaths, and the levels of drug related harm, that occur in Scotland is unacceptable, and it is a priority of this Government to do all we can to tackle this public health emergency that we are facing. I established a Drug Deaths Taskforce as part of our ongoing response, and we have invested around £895 million in services to tackle alcohol and drug use since 2008.