Alcohol and drugs strategic plan: Fairer Scotland Duty assessment summary

Fairer Scotland Duty Summary

Title of policy, strategy or programme

Scotland’s Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan

Summary of aims and expected outcomes of strategy, proposal, programme or policy

The Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan (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.

Through the lens of socioeconomic impacts, the groups most likely to be affected by the Plan are:

• People who use alcohol and drugs, particularly those experiencing socio‑economic disadvantage, including those in the most deprived areas.
• People experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, or justice involvement (including prison leavers).
• Rural and island communities facing barriers to accessing services.
• Families, children and young people affected by substance use.
• Groups, including protected characteristic groups who face additional barriers (women, minority ethnic groups, LGBTQ+ communities, disabled people, people with co‑occurring mental health conditions).

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.

The expected outcomes of the Plan are summarised as:

• Human Rights Based Approach: People affected by alcohol and drugs have their human rights fulfilled by putting human rights at the centre of policy and practice .
• Prevention and Early Intervention: Fewer people develop problem alcohol and drug use.
• Harm Reduction: Harm is reduced for people who use alcohol and drugs.
• Treatment and Care: People affected by alcohol and drugs receive high quality treatment and care services.
• Wider Circle of Support: People affected by alcohol and drugs have their wider needs supported by compassionate joined-up services.
• Delivering in Partnership: Partners collaborate effectively to support delivery and continuous improvement, driven by evidence and shared accountability.