River Garden Auchincruive

First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 20 June 2024.

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Photo of Sharon Dowey Sharon Dowey Conservative

The Scottish National Party awarded funding to River Garden, a rehabilitation centre in Auchincruive, to help 56 people recover from drug addiction, but that funding has been paused. Those financial constraints mean that the centre can currently accommodate only six people and that the future of the facility is now at risk, with fears that it may close within weeks.

Scotland has the worst rate of drug deaths in Europe, but beds are lying empty because funding has been frozen. Will the First Minister look at that immediately and sort it out?

Photo of John Swinney John Swinney Scottish National Party

That is a very specific issue, so I cannot give Sharon Dowey a direct response today, but I will take that away and explore it.

My answer to a question from Mr Greene a few weeks ago indicated that we are on target to increase the number of beds available for rehabilitation services, according to the expectations of the national mission on drug deaths, so I am surprised to hear the information that Sharon Dowey has put to Parliament today, given that it is my expectation that we will achieve our published targets.

I will take that particular question away and explore the issue of River Garden.