6. To ask the Scottish Government what analysis the drug deaths task force has made of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. (S5O-04530)

The task force and I were both acutely aware of the risks that the pandemic and changes in how services are delivered, that were made as a result of lockdown measures, could pose to people who are reliant upon treatment and support. The task force has continued to meet regularly throughout the pandemic, and has taken forward a range of work to mitigate the risks. That work has included the rapid development of a series of recommendations, which have been implemented by the Scottish Government and others.

Fake Valium and drugs from so-called pill presses have, anecdotally, had a crippling effect on health in Dundee, where etizolam-related deaths rocketed by 500 per cent in 2018. The drugs death toll for 2019 will not, I understand, be known until December at the earliest, and experts fear the worst. Can the Minister indicate whether the task force believes that Covid will have affected the numbers of deaths that are caused by such drugs?

That is a hugely important question. Fake Valium is something that really concerns me, and we are hearing, anecdotally, increasing concerns about it from across Scotland. It is one of the areas in which I hope that we and our United Kingdom Government colleagues can work together.

Right now, a person can go online—I will not name particular websites—and buy, for a relatively small amount of money, a pill press that can churn out those lethal pills by the thousands. I cannot understand the justification for such devices. I hope that the Scottish, UK, Welsh and Northern Irish Governments can work together to regulate sale of pill presses, which are potentially responsible for producing a large amount of the really dangerous street Valium and other pills that are circulating in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

We will see whether Murdo Fraser is now able to ask his question.

I am afraid that Mr Fraser remains uncharacteristically silent. We will move rapidly to Joan McAlpine. I offer my apologies to Mr Fraser.