FLHAD55

I sincerely hope the other parties support this motion of no confidence. Yes, it may amount to little more than a parliamentary headline. But headlines are almost all that remain when the substance of this debate has been exhausted by years of promises, strategies, taskforces and assurances that progress is being made. Yesterday we learned that 1,133 people died from drugs in Scotland last year. Deaths rose 11%. Male deaths rose 19%. The minister stood before Parliament and described the figures as unacceptable, while insisting that her “eye is absolutely on the ball”. Scottish Parliament If 1,133 deaths and another year of deterioration do not trigger political accountability, what possibly would? This should not be about Reform, SNP, Labour, Conservative or anybody else's tribal loyalties. A vote of no confidence is Parliament's opportunity to say that failure on this scale has consequences. Scotland's grieving families have heard enough expressions of concern. They are entitled to see somebody finally accept responsibility for a system that is manifestly failing too many people.

“There should be no reason to struggle to get into residential rehab. Money should be no object. Go and ask for help and we will make sure that you get it.” I am genuinely astonished by this statement. For three years, FAVOR UK’s independent advocacy service has dealt with people and families struggling to navigate Scotland’s treatment system. We have documented long waiting times, fragmented services, bureaucratic barriers, limited treatment choice and profoundly unequal access to residential rehabilitation. In some parts of Scotland, people wait months or even years. People are not dying because they forgot to “ask for help”. They ask for help. Their mothers ask. Their partners ask. Their children ask. Our advocates ask on their behalf. Then they encounter assessments, thresholds, funding decisions, uncertainty, poor communication and a postcode lottery determining what treatment they can actually access. Our own advocacy evidence records people struggling specifically with access, choice, waiting times and simply finding out what happens next. So when the Minister tells people there is “no reason” they should struggle to get into residential rehab, I have to ask whether she understands the system she is responsible for. And “money should be no object” will come as astonishing news to families who have spent years fighting for funding. Please don't tell desperate people simply to ask for help. They already are. The scandal is what happens after they ask.