2. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2022. (S6O-02497)

In Parliament on 7 September, I outlined the Government’s plan to reduce alcohol harms and deaths in response to the alcohol-specific deaths in 2022 and committed to a debate on the plan in more detail. It includes evaluating minimum unit pricing and alcohol marketing consultation responses. We will publish the recommendations of Public Health Scotland’s review on alcohol brief interventions and we have asked PHS to investigate reductions in the number of referrals to services.

Approximately £113 million is available to support initiatives responding to local needs, underpinned by the forthcoming treatment standards and workforce action plan to improve quality and capacity.

In April, it was revealed to me in a written answer to a question from the minister that the Scottish Government had cut alcohol and drug recovery services by £19 million in 2022-23. Now that we have seen a 14-year high in the number of alcohol-related deaths, and Scotland remains the drug death capital of Europe, does the minister accept that those cuts have had a devastating effect on people’s suffering with drug and alcohol misuse, and will she commit to restoring funding to those services in 2023-24?

It is important to point out that, in my response to the member’s question, I outlined that there has been no reduction in the funding that has been made available to alcohol and drug partnerships. Indeed, the funding that has been made available to them has increased year on year. Last year, £106.8 million was available to alcohol and drug partnerships, and this year £113 million was made available to them. We asked them to use their reserves appropriately and then draw on the funding. However, that funding is then moved forward and used in other ways in the alcohol and drug partnerships themselves, so there has been no overall reduction in funding.

I will bring back to the chamber a debate to discuss a cohesive plan, because I recognise that members across the chamber are looking to understand what the Government is doing to tackle alcohol-specific deaths and alcohol harm.

The Scottish Government’s world-leading minimum unit pricing policy has been shown to have a welcome impact on tackling alcohol-related harm. Can the minister provide any update on work to review the price level?

Work on renewing the level of the minimum unit pricing is under way, as the impact of MUP is connected to the unit price. It is important that we have a robust evidence base to support any decision on the change of the level of the MUP. As outlined in the programme for government, we will publish our final report on the operation and the effect of MUP later this month in Parliament, alongside a consultation on the MUP’s future around both its price and the continuation of the scheme.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Question 3 was not lodged.