Alcohol and drugs strategic plan: equality impact assessment summary

Background

The Plan responds to Scotland’s persistently high rates of alcohol- and drug-related harms and deaths. It builds on learning from, and will replace, a range of previous alcohol and drug policy publications, including Rights, Respect, Recovery (2018), the Alcohol Framework (2018) the National Mission on Drugs (2021) and the Cross-Government Response to the Drug Deaths Taskforce (2023).

The Plan is a key component of Scotland’s broader public health ambitions:

• The Population Health Framework which seeks to address the wider determinants of health, increase life expectancy and reduce inequalities; and
• The Service Renewal Framework which guides the transformation of health and social care services towards being more person-centered and community-based, and to harness digital technologies to improve access, efficiency, and outcomes.

The core aims of the Plan are to prevent harm from alcohol and drugs, promote recovery and save lives.

To achieve this, delivery of the Plan will be underpinned by a human rights-based approach and effective partnership working. The Plan focuses on four key interconnected areas: prevention and early intervention, harm reduction, treatment and care, and the wider circle of support beyond specialist alcohol and drug services.

The Plan provides a strategic framework to drive progress toward long-term outcomes across these areas. It sets out our priorities and a series of short-term commitments that we, along with partners, will actively pursue over the next three years.

Development of the Plan was informed by extensive engagement with stakeholders, including people with lived and living experience, Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs), clinicians, commissioners, third sector organisations, and wider system partners.

Groups most likely to be affected by the Plan include:

• People affected directly by problem alcohol and drug use.
• People affected indirectly affected by alcohol and drugs, including children, families, and communities.
• People with complex needs, particularly those with co-occurring concerns such as mental health challenges, trauma, homelessness, or socio-economic disadvantage.
• Statutory and third sector organisations responsible for delivering services for people affected by alcohol and drugs.

The Plan seeks to embed a human rights-based approach across service design, development and delivery – guided by the Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use.