Costs and staffing levels of Drugs Policy Division: FOI release

Information requested

I would request a breakdown of Costs and Staffing levels for the Drugs Division in Scotland.

How much in funding has been made avaliable to raise awareness of Drug deaths in Scotland between 2010 and 2021?

What staffing has been made avaliable in the fight against deaths due to Drugs in Scotland between 2010 and 2021?

What is the cost of Ms Constance’s department on a year to year basis?

Response

How much in funding has been made available to raise awareness of Drug deaths in Scotland between 2010 and 2021?

Drugs funding from Scottish Government is tracked under key objectives of reducing drugs deaths, substance misuse and the national mission. Within this are various activities to raise awareness including funding of research and publication of reports. No funding is set aside for the sole purpose of raising awareness of Drug Deaths, but ADPS, NCOs and third sector providers have access to multiple funds if they wish to carry out run awareness raising campaigns.

The Drugs Policy Division began on January 2021 and prior to his Drugs Policy within the scope of the Alcohol Policy therefore I have included details of funding that has been allocated to Alcohol and Drugs services.

Year	Allocation (£ millions)
2010-11	74.5
2011-12	74.2
2012-13	74.2
2013-14	74.6
2014-15	73.4
2015-16	73.6
2016-17	57.3
2017-18	57.3
2018-19	75.3
2019-20	75.3
2020-21	95.7

You can find this information here - https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202100148279/.

Prior to 2018/19 money was allocated to each ADP and a breakdown of how much went to each Health Board in each year can be found here – Treatment and Services (webarchive.org.uk) and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships: funding allocations - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

DRUGS POLICY BUDGET
SPEND DURING THIS PARLIAMENT

Year	To Health Boards for ADP commissioning	Additional	Comment	Total
2016/17	£53.8 million	£3.45 million	Third sector	£57.3 million
2017/18	£53.8 million	£3.45 million	Third sector	£57.3 million
2018/19	£72.8 million	£3.2 million	Third sector	£77 million
		£1 million	Housing First
			£20 million PfG 2017 uplift to restore ADP funding to 2015/16 levels
2019/20	£72.8 million	£3.2 million	Third sector	£77 million
		£1 million	Housing First
2020/21	£72.8 million	£3.2 million	Third sector	£95.3 million
		£1 million	Housing First
		£11 million	£9 million for Taskforce programmes and £2 million for Multiple, complex needs Inclusive Scotland Fund
		£4.6 million	Mental health budget spend on mental health workers who will also provide support to problem drug use.
TOTAL	£327 million			£363.9 million

Information prior to 2016/17 is unavailable as has been deleted in accordance with our data management policy.

Details of funding allocations made from the Grassroots and Improvement Funding awards June 2021 can be found here - Drugs Services Funds - Corra.

Some of the information you have requested is available from https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20180529193142/http:/www.gov.scot/Topics/Government/Finance/18127/Documents.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have a breakdown of funding for drug and alcohol services from 2000-2007 . Prior to 2009 the funding allocated to Health Boards did not include specific allocations for alcohol and drug services. This began in 2008-09 when Alcohol and Drug Partnerships came into existence.

What staffing has been made available in the fight against deaths due to Drugs in Scotland between 2010 and 2021?

As stated previously, the Drugs Policy Division began in January 2021 therefore it is not possible to provide staffing figures for the Division prior to this. At the end of the 2020/21 financial year the Drugs Policy Division had a staff volume of 30 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). As of March 2022, this has increased to a staff volume of 48 FTE.

What is the cost of Ms Constance’s department on a year to year basis?

Similarly, as the Drugs Policy Division began in January 2021 therefore it is not possible to provide costs prior to this. However for the first full financial year (2021/22) in operation the cost of the Drugs Policy Division was £1,834,329.00.

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