‘Frustration’ at SNP drugs scheme snub
THE UK policing minister has spoken of his frustration at the SNP’s refusal to join a scheme that could help tackle Scotland’s ‘alarming’ drug death crisis.
Kit Malthouse said the UK is a ‘family that has to deal with this problem as a family’.
Project Adder is a UK-wide ‘whole system’ approach to dealing with addiction and the supply of illegal substances that Mr Malthouse said would erect a ‘ring of steel’ around Scotland.
Despite record drug deaths north of the Border, the Scottish Government has refused to sign up to the project, which has seen £150million of investment in England.
Mr Malthouse also criticised the decision of Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain to
‘UK has to deal with this problem as family’
allow police warnings rather than prosecutions for possession of Class A drugs.
He said it ‘creates confusion in people’s minds about what is and what isn’t criminal’. He also said he has an ‘open mind’ to the possibility of drug consumption rooms, which the Scottish Government has been pushing for.
More than 1,300 people died in Scotland last year after taking illegal drugs. Another record toll is expected in 2021.
The UK Government launched Project Adder (Addiction, Disruption, Diversion, Enforcement and Recovery) in England and Wales earlier this year, pulling together resources from justice, health and recovery initiatives.
Mr Malthouse said: ‘I do think an Adder in Scotland would be a great thing to do. I have to confess to being slightly frustrated they won’t adopt the model in full.’ The pilot scheme was set up in Blackpool and the surrounding area.
Since its launch in January, 300 crime groups have been intercepted, with more than £1.5billion in cash seized and 5,500 arrests.
Mr Malthouse said this has made the area ‘undesirable for these groups to do business’. He added: ‘I think the supply of drugs into Scotland, particularly into Glasgow and Dundee, the strong supply means drugs are cheap and easily available.’
He said that if the Scottish Government did sign up to work with Project Adder there could be a ‘full network on the mainland’.
He added: ‘We have to work together. This is a UK problem and there will be a UK solution.’ On Scotland’s drugs deaths crisis, Mr Malthouse said it is ‘deeply, deeply alarming and distressing’.
He praised the Scottish Government’s decision to offer £18million extra for drug services and said his talks with drugs minister Angela Constance were ‘constructive’.
But he said: ‘The critical stage now for me is the execution on the ground.’ The Scottish Government said that it is taking a ‘vast range of actions to tackle this public health emergency’.
A spokesman said ministers were using a public health approach to drugs.
He added: ‘We welcome the focus under Project Adder on diversion and recovery, areas Scotland is already prioritising through our national mission.’