Poverty hotspots are being failed by ministers’ drug and alcohol policies, a watchdog has warned.
Audit Scotland said “long-standing inequalities” remain in poorest neighbourhoods because of a lack of action by the Scottish Government.
It called for a clear plan to improve lives and urged more transparency on spending.
Scotland has the highest drug-death rate in Europe.
The report said: “Alcohol and drug partnerships are charged with helping people at the local level.
“But how services are delivered remains complicated and lines of accountability are not always clear.
“Spending remains difficult to track, including how money is distributed and what it is achieving. The Scottish Government committed to invest £250million to reduce drug deaths – £50million for the next five years.
“But details of how much of the £50million will be spent on each local area, or how the funding will be distributed, have not been published.
“The government needs to set out a clear integrated plan on how additional investment can be used most effectively.
Auditor General for Scotland, Stephen Boyle said: “It’s still hard to see what impact policy is having on people living in the most deprived areas, where long-standing inequalities remain.”
Scottish Labour drug policy spokeswoman Claire Baker, said: “The SNP have had 15 years to address the issues raised in this report and deliver the accountability, transparency and data that we need – but they have failed.”
Scottish Tory drugs policy spokeswoman Sue Webber called the report “utterly damning of the government’s approach”.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We are investing record sums in the provision of services to address the impacts of both alcohol and drug use.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
