AN SNP MP has slammed the Home Office after it refused invitations from the Scottish Affairs Committee to give evidence on the UK’s drugs policy.
Despite the committee sending several requests for Victoria Atkins, Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, to speak on the policy and its impact on Scotland, she has declined to appear.
During the committee’s ongoing inquiry into problem drug use in Scotland, where drug-related deaths are rising, it heard evidence that UK drug policy should be reviewed to better support users’ recoveries.
The inquiry also heard evidence that suggests the Misuse of Drugs Act is restricting Scotland’s ability to address increasing drug-related deaths and preventing safe consumption rooms from opening.
Committee chair Pete Wishart MP said: “When hundreds of people are dying each year from drugs in Scotland, it is reprehensible that the minister will not come to the Scottish Affairs Committee to answer some important questions about the UK’s drug policy.
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“If the Government is confident that it is taking the right approach to tackling drug misuse it should be willing to appear before my committee to defend its position.”
Addressing the Home Office directly, Wishart added: “Given the clear link between reserved policy and the problem we are looking at, we feel it is not unreasonable that you should appear before us. We have collected a substantial body of evidence, the vast majority of which contradicts the UK Government’s policy position, and therefore feel it is particularly important the Government has the opportunity to defend its position.
“Your decision not to offer any dates at all for your appearance is an insult to the many people in Scotland whose lives have been profoundly affected by problematic drug use, and is a serious failure of your duty to be accountable to Parliament. I therefore trust that you – or the Home Secretary – will make every effort to find a time before the summer recess to give evidence to my committee.”
The Scottish Affairs Committee was told in its most recent communication with the Home Office that the minister “is not offering any dates for her appearance”.
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