Young people accessing support or treatment for alcohol and drugs: standards - November 2025

Annex A

Early Interventions for Children and Young People Working Group

Membership of Working Group

Chair - Andrew Horne, Independent Consultant

Organisations who provided representation in the Working Group:

• We Are With You
• Kibble
• Operations Manager, Specialist Intervention Services
• Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA)
• Children 1st
• The Corra Foundation
• Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
• Crew 2000 Scotland
• Action for Children
• Social Work
• Scottish Government Children and Families Unit
• South Lanarkshire ADP
• Scottish Government Early Intervention - Improving Lives for People with Care Experience Unit
• Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice
• National School Nursing Leads Group
• Integrated Children & Family Services, Aberdeen City
• Scottish Drugs Forum
• Scottish Government Drugs Policy Division

Early Interventions for Children and Young People Working Group Subgroup:

Establishing Standards for Children and Young People

Chair – Emma Crawshaw, CEO, Crew 2000 Scotland

Organisations who provided representation in the Subgroup:

• Andrew Horne, Independent Consultant
• Integrated Children & Family Services, Aberdeen City
• Adolescent Substance Use Service, Edinburgh
• Children 1st
• Scottish Drugs Forum
• Scottish Government Drugs Policy Division

Early Interventions for Children and Young People Working Group

Purpose:

In 2021, The Scottish Government set up The Early Interventions for Children and Young People Working Group, chaired by Andrew Horne, who at that time was the Executive Director of We Are With You.

The purpose of the working group was to develop an approach to early intervention for young people aged 25 years old and under, at risk of developing problem alcohol or drug use through deprivation, inequality or other factors.

The aim was to deliver on Action 4 of the Scottish Government’s Rights, Respect and Recovery Strategy and Outcome 1 of the National Drugs Mission, that fewer people develop problematic substance use. The focus of the working group was to ensure that quality treatment services are available across Scotland for young people with emerging problematic drug and alcohol use, so that they can access help when they need it and services meet their specific needs.

The working group gathered a range of information to support their development of an approach. This was undertaken through the following 4 phases:

Phase 1: Data gathering

Data was gathered from various sources^[14] and disciplines across the country to determine the scope of problematic substance use amongst young people. This included informal engagement with ADPs to gather examples of support that already exists for young people, and informal engagement with services to gather examples of good practice.

The Working Group agreed:

1. Risk factors such as socioeconomics is a determining factor in developing substance use issues.

2. The type of drugs that younger people use is different to those among older age-groups.

3. Many people who developed drug/alcohol issues as adults started using substances at a young age.

4. There is wide variation in the provision of treatment and recovery services for young people across Scotland.

5. Services are often complex and fragmented. There is a need for joined up multi-agency working.

6. Young people and their families often face judgement and stigma when accessing support.

7. Pathways into treatment are not generally well known to young people and their families.

Phase 2: Co-design with young people – what does good support look like

A human rights-based approach through co-design with young people was taken to develop the Standards we expect local areas to have in place to support young people with their alcohol and drug use. Dr McMellon, an independent researcher from Edinburgh University was appointed and led co-design workshops with young people. Dr McMellon reported the following recommendations (more detail can be found in Annex B):

1. Services need to start before there is a problem.

2. Different young people need different services.

3. Accessibility means different things for different young people.

4. Good support usually takes time.

5. Consistent, respectful relationships are key.

6. Safety is a priority.

7. The service and workers need to recognise and value the young person’s whole life.

8. Respecting the young person’s knowledge and ability to make choices is vital.

Phase 3: Development of the Standards and Recommendations of Treatment and Support for Young People (Tier 1 - Tier 4)

The Standards and Recommendations for young people were developed using the findings from co-design, along with the following evidence on Standards and good practice:

• The Scottish Government report, ‘A Review of the Existing Literature and Evidence on Young People Experiencing Harms from Alcohol and Drugs in Scotland’^[15]
• Working Group findings from Phase 1
• NHS Highland Review of Drug Related Deaths in Younger People^[16]
• Scottish Government Mental Health Standards^[17]
• The Quality Principles: Standard Expectations of Care and Support in Drug and Alcohol Services (2014)^[18]
• Health and Social Care Standards (2017)^[19]
• Scottish Government Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards^[20]
• Practice Standards, Royal College of Psychiatry (England, 2013)^[21]
• Department of Health, Drug misuse and dependence - UK guidelines on clinical management^[22]

Informal engagement on the developed Standards was conducted with ADPs, young people and services.