New partnership will tackle booze and drug abuse

Apr 30 2009 by Alison Rennie, Paisley Daily Express

A DEDICATED alcohol and drug partnership is to be set up in Renfrewshire to tackle the problem of substance misuse.

The new partnership will replace the current alcohol and drug action team and come under the community planning department of the council.

Every local authority in Scotland will have its own ADP according to a new agreement between the Scottish Government, councils and the NHS.

Minister for Community Safety Fergus Ewing said: “The national drugs strategy and the alcohol framework provide a clear plan to tackle the damage that substance misuse has caused to too many of our people.

“The record investment in both drug and alcohol services must be better targeted to turn around those lives.

“Building on the work of an expert group and aided by the recent Audit Scotland report, the framework represents a significant and positive change in how substance misuse will be tackled locally.

“By clarifying roles, responsibilities and accountability arrangements between partners, we can work more effectively to ensure the most appropriate services are in place at the right time to help those struggling with drug and alcohol problems to recover and live full, rewarding lives.”

Mr Ewing also announced plans for a Scottish Drugs Recovery Consortium – a charitable trust which brings together key partners from the voluntary, public and academic field to promote and assist the greater focus on recovery.

Minister for Public Health Shona Robison said: “Alcohol and drug misuse blights the lives of individuals, families and communities.

“Audit Scotland’s recent report correctly identified that in terms of the number of people affected, alcohol misuse is an even bigger problem than drug addiction and costs Scotland £2.25 billion per year. It’s a health, social and economic issue we must get to grips with.

“We have already boosted spending to tackle alcohol misuse by 230 per cent to £120 million over three years and launched our radical Alcohol Framework for Action to address the root causes of the problem.

“It is vital that we maximise the impact of this investment through the delivery of effective services for people with alcohol problems. The new Alcohol and Drug Partnerships provide us with the means to do this.”