Critics have slammed the decision to scrap the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce and replace it with another body that is answerable only to the Scottish Government.
The Taskforce was created in 2019 after campaigning by the Daily Record for a proper emergency response to our grotesquely spiralling drug deaths. But it has been regarded as a flop in that regard, as deaths have gone up and now only show signs of hitting a minor dip or plateau.
It will deliver its final recommendations at the end of this month after Scottish drugs policy minister Angela Constance's demands for a hurry-up led to the resignations of the previous chair and vice chair. The Scottish Government’s newly formed National Drugs Mission Oversight Group has already met after being quietly assembled in recent months.
Paul Sweeney MSP, who has written his own private bill to enable Overdose Prevention Centres in Scotland, said the new body is just as “opaque” as the one it replaces.
He said: “The Taskforce was set up to drive the number of drug deaths in Scotland down, something it has failed to do year upon year.
"We were told by the Scottish Government that we should only judge the Taskforce after it had existed for three years. We are now approaching that date and it seems the government, like me, has concluded that the Taskforce has been ineffective and must go.
However, scrapping the Taskforce and replacing it with an opaque body that will only be answerable to the government is not only naive but is further proof that the government are terrified of independent scrutiny and will do anything they can to mask their myriad of failings on drug deaths.”
Sweeney’s Drug Death Prevention Scotland Bill advocates replacing the Taskforce with a body entirely independent of government - “one that would scrutinise and recommend policies without fear or favour”.
He added: “That’s the kind of oversight body we need to get a grip on this crisis, not another government quango.”
The Scottish Lib Dems health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said the abolition of the drugs death taskforce “feels like an admission of defeat”.
He said: “Our progress on reducing this devastating problem has been glacial. For the best part of a year I have been calling on the First Minster to ask for the WHO to intervene by sending the foremost experts in the world to aid us with this crisis.
“At the very least the Scottish Government needs to spell out how the lessons and experiences of the taskforce will inform the work of this new organisation and how they will ensure that the lessons learned from it will not be lost.”
The National Drugs Mission oversight group claims to be formed of international experts and individuals who have been affected by drugs, along with third sector and local government representatives.
Drugs minister Angela Constance said: “The Taskforce was established to provide expert advice on the emergency response to rising drug-related deaths in Scotland. It was set up for a specific purpose - initially established for the life of the last Parliament, it was not to continue indefinitely and as we focus on delivery and change on the ground, we need quicker, practical advice.
“The focus of the Taskforce is now on producing its final recommendations. We are committed to actions based on a robust evidence base, but this needs to be balanced with the need for accelerated delivery to provide meaningful change in people’s lives. As we continue with our national mission, it is vital that we have a sharper focus on implementation.”
A total of 1,339 Scots died of overdoses last year - 15 times the European average and four times that of the rest of the UK.
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