THE Tory Government has organised a UK-wide summit on tackling problem drug use which will be held in Glasgow next month – without involving the Scottish Government.
Holyrood Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick said that there had been no consultation with the Scottish Government about the event – it had made repeated calls for a summit to take place – but that the important thing was that the issue was being looked at.
Drug recovery experts, health professionals, senior police officers and Government ministers from all four UK nations will be at the event on February 27.
The SNP led calls for a summit to address the issue of drugs misuse after statistics revealed last year showed the number of drugs-related deaths in Scotland rose to 1187 in 2018 – the highest total since records began in 1996.
READ MORE: UK-wide summit on problem drug use to be held in Glasgow
The Scottish Government also wants drug policy powers handed to Holyrood to enable it to adopt new approaches. FitzPatrick said: “What Scotland faces in terms of drug deaths is nothing short of a public health emergency and we will engage constructively with any attempts to save lives.
"I have asked UK Government ministers repeatedly to meet to discuss this issue and to attend a summit we were organising.
“I was, therefore, very surprised that the UK Government announced a summit in Glasgow without any consultation with the Scottish Government and Glasgow.
"But regardless of how the UK Government have chosen to go about this, what really matters is reducing harm and saving lives.
“That’s why listening to, and engaging with, people with lived experience of drug use and those on the front line must be central to any summit.
"We will now, again, attempt to work with the UK Government to facilitate this.”
The summit will be chaired by the UK Minister for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service Kit Malthouse.
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