Alcohol and Drug Services delivery support 2025-2026: letter to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships

Supporting the Delivery of Alcohol and Drug Services: 2025-26 Funding Allocation, Programme for Government Funding and Ministerial Priorities

1. We are writing to provide detail about the funding arrangements, Ministerial priorities and planning and reporting arrangements for Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) work for 2025-26. These arrangements will support the delivery of services to reduce harms and deaths associated with alcohol and drugs.

2. The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the public health priorities of both alcohol and drug harms and the majority of funding outlined in this letter is for the delivery of both drug and alcohol services. We need to ensure the momentum and response to tackling the rise in drug deaths and harms is being replicated in our work to address alcohol specific deaths and harms.

Funding Allocations

3. The funding arrangements are summarised in the following table and explained in more detail below.

Table: ADP funding arrangements (local breakdowns can be found in appendices 2 and 3)

* 2024-25 baselined figure plus PfG uplift and associated AfC element now baselined, and including 2025-26 3% baseline uplift.

**Legacy Agenda for Change uplift costs issued related to in-year programme funding.

4. Collectively this funding represents a national investment of £115.2 million for ADPs. This means that funding has increased from the 2024/25 level by over £2 million. As you will be aware, the Scottish Government’s total funding to support ADP projects in 2025-26 is transferred via NHS Boards for onward delegation to IAs to be invested, in their entirety, through ADPs, and should not be subject to any wider savings targets. For 2025-26, baseline and Programme for Government funding has already been transferred. Full details of this breakdown by ADP and Health Board are available in the appendices (appendix 2 and 3).

5. To improve monitoring and evaluation, and increase transparency, we also expect ADPs to return a bi-annual financial report. These are due to be submitted on 31 October 2025 and 30 April 2026 and will contribute to the annual report.

Note on In-Year Allocations Timing and Reserves

6. The £17 million PfG uplift and associated Agenda for Change (AfC) element (£2m) has now transferred into Board baseline allocations.

7. We will issue the 2025-26 in-year allocations in two tranches based on an 80%/20% split. Tranche one has been issued with the June allocations. Please see appendix 4 for tranche one allocations by Health Board and Integrated Authority (IA). Tranche two will be allocated around December 2025 and will reflect the forecast spend for the remainder of the year.

8. We previously highlighted the significant accumulation of reserves held by IAs on behalf of ADPs. In 2024-25, financial returns were commissioned to minimise reserve balances being carried forward to 2025-26. We intend to continue this process for financial year 2025-26 and monitor reserves on a bi-annual basis through financial returns. Tranche two allocations will therefore also take into account confirmed levels of reserves that are available to contribute towards the 2025-26 funding requirement, as well as any in-year slippage that may arise, in order to ensure we continue to allocate funding based on need and avoid a build up being carried forward into future financial years. Reserves where there is a funding requirement for a non-recurring commitment may be excluded from this process by agreement.

9. SG are unable to roll forward any underspends from 2025-26 therefore the funding set out in the table above and associated appendices is the maximum allocated in-year and will be available in full where forecasts reasonably demonstrate that funding can be spent.

10. Any reserves held in 2025-26 as a result of underspend, that have not been flagged to the SG as legally committed, will need to be spent before new allocations are drawn down in 2025-26.

11. As per the process in 2024-25, as part of the financial returns we will capture and consider any specific requests demonstrating the requirement to carry reserves for non-recurring commitments into 2026-27.

NHS Board Baseline contribution

12. The Scottish Government’s direct funding to support ADP projects in 2025-26 has been transferred to NHS Boards via their baseline allocations for onward delegation to IAs to be invested, in their entirety, according to local Alcohol and Drugs Partnership strategic planning and should not be subject to any wider savings targets. Where there is more than one IA within the Health Board area, the level of funding should be agreed jointly by the IAs within the Health Board area.

13. Since 2018-19 additional funding of £17 million per year has been delegated to IAs for onward use by ADPs as part of the Programme for Government to support improvement and innovation in the way alcohol and drug services are delivered as part of the Rights, Respect and Recovery strategy and the Alcohol Framework 2018: Preventing Harm. This funding has been allocated via NRAC, and the same amount is available for 2025-26. This funding and associated Agenda for Change (AfC) element (£2m) will henceforth be issued with Board baselines (as noted in paragraph 6 above).

14. This means we will increase the proportion of funding to be baselined in 2025-26 by 33% to a total of c.£78.9 million allowing greater security and flexibility to local areas. Going forward we will be exploring the potential of further baseline funding to ensure sustainability of the National Mission beyond 2026.

NHS Agenda for Change uplift (2025-26)

15. NHS Boards have provided estimates centrally to outline the funding needs to support 2025-26 pay awards, including the assessment of the impact on all in-year allocations. NHS Boards will receive funding confirmation shortly.

National Mission Uplift - £11 million

16. This funding has been allocated via NRAC, and the same amount is available for 2025-26 as in 2024-25. It is expected that this funding will be directed towards programmes of work which deliver the outcomes set out in the National Mission Outcomes Framework (appendix 1). This funding stream combines three funding streams which were separate in the first year of the national mission (2021-22) - the general uplift stream (£5m) and specific funding for near-fatal overdose pathways (£3m) and outreach (£3m) - to provide more flexibility at the local level. It is expected that both outreach and near-fatal overdose remain priorities as core parts of the national mission and MAT standards delivery.

2025/26 in-year allocations - Specific programme funding

Medication-Assisted Treatment Standards - £10.3 million

17. The MAT standards funding remains the same as 2024-25. Funding agreed with local services in each IA area for the implementation of the MAT Standards followed detailed, local discussion on additional resources required to implement the MAT standards by recruiting staff, service improvements and sustaining these through the national mission and beyond. Implementing, improving and sustaining the MAT Standards is a key priority for Ministers and delivery of these standards must also be key priority for Chief Officers and other leaders in IAs.

18. Allocation of funding has been based on priority needs – taking into account what each area has already got in place and what each area requires. This has meant that allocation decisions have not been based only on NRAC. Full details of the MAT funding allocation are detailed in appendix 2.

19. Public Health Scotland, through the MAT Implementation Support Team (MIST) will continue to help local areas monitor their progress in implementing the standards over the year and performance against standards will be captured in ADP annual reporting cycles and Scottish Government Implementation Plan Progress Reporting.

Residential Rehabilitation - £5 million

20. Ministers have committed to increase the number of publicly funded placements by over 300% by 2026. Through collective efforts this target (at least 1,000 people per year are funded for their residential rehabilitation) has already been reached but ADPs should continue efforts to ensure that this is now sustained. This is the third year of this funding uplift to support residential recovery, and the services associated with preparation or aftercare. ADPs should note that rehabilitation-associated service placements in detox, crisis care and stabilisation are valid use of the funding here.

21. While monitoring data from 2024-25 indicates a substantial increase in the number of people accessing treatmet via public funding, more work needs to be done to deliver on this ambition.

22. We expect all ADPs to have an operational and published pathway in place and to continue to increase the number of people being referred to residential rehab in their areas.

23. Healthcare Improvement Scotland have established regional improvement hubs that will bring together groups of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and other key parts of the local system to design and improve pathways into, through and from rehab. Much of this work is already underway however it is our expectation that ADPs will continue to engage with this work in a constructive manner.

24. Public Health Scotland will continue the regular monitoring of referrals and spend on residential rehab and ADPs are asked for their continued support of this data collection. Public Health Scotland are developing a comprehensive evaluation framework to support the residential rehabilitation programme and further details of this work will be shared in due course.

25. Scotland Excel’s National Commissioning Framework (NCF) for residential rehab placements went live on 1 April 2024, this work brings together two years of market analysis and stakeholder engagement to deliver on one of the recommendations made by the Residential Rehab Working Group. We expect that ADPs utilise this framework as a tool to make commissioning of RR placements (including those supported through the separate Additional Placements Fund) easier and more efficient.

Whole Family Approach/Family Inclusive Practice: £3.5 million

26. £3.5 million is committed to support the implementation of ‘Drug and alcohol services – improving holistic family support: A framework for holistic whole family approaches and family inclusive practice^[1]’ also known as the Whole Family Approach Framework. This was published in December 2021. Chapter 11 and sets our expectations for local areas to put in place accessible, consistent, sustained and inclusive support for families.

27. It is the expectation of Ministers that this £3.5 million investment is used to implement and strengthen holistic whole family approaches and family inclusive practice, in accordance with the Framework. Working collaboratively with local partners, and in particular Children’s Service Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) is vital to improving family support. We encourage ADPs and CSPPs to view this investment, and the additional allocation to CSPPs through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund, as part of a programme of investment in families. ADPs and CSPPs should plan accordingly and pool resources to achieve the maximum impact for families.

28. At a minimum, we expect ADPs to be able to demonstrate that they are working towards embedding holistic whole family approaches and:

• Undertake an audit of family provision, including the quantity, quality and reach, taking account of support delivered by paid workers, volunteers and peers, including mutual aid/fellowships.
• Utilise this funding to improve and expand the service provision for families in their area in partnership with relevant bodies.
• Can evidence that the expertise, views, and needs of families have been included in this work from the outset and that established meaningful feedback loops are in place to gather the views and experiences of families, and these are being used to improve serice provision.

Lived and Living Experience Participation

29. £0.5 million is allocated to support ADPs to develop meaningful, accessible and inclusive ways for people to be involved in decision-making.

30. Ensuring the voices and the rights of people affected by substance use^[2] are acted upon is a cross-cutting priority for the National Mission. It builds on the rights-based approach laid out in Rights, Respect, Recovery (2018) and is being driven forward at a national level through the National Collaborative.

31. Participation and empowerment are key principles of a human rights-based approach. Everybody has the right to participate in decisions affecting them and to influence outcomes. This is relevant to decisions about their care (or the care of somebody they support) as well as decisions about the design and delivery of services.

32. Engagement with ADPs so far has shown that flexibility is important. We recognise that ADPs are at different stages of developing their approach to involving people affected by substance use. Some examples of how this has been taken forward include: a panel or reference group made up of people affected by substance use (including lived, living and family experience); LLE representation within the ADP Board; funding and involving independent groups of people with lived and living experience; interviews as part of the MAT Standards experiential monitoring programme.

33. The Charter of Rights for people affected by substance use^[3] was published in December 2024, alongside a toolkit^[4] to support implementation of a human-rights based approach using the Charter of Rights. Emerging practice will be captured to share ideas and learning as a human rights-based approach is developed and delivered by duty bearers.

34. Progress will be monitored through the ADP Annual Survey Report. Questions ask what feedback mechanisms are in place and about opportunities for active participation as well as how feedback is used to influence decision-making.

Stabilisation fund

35. Ministers have ringfenced £3 million for the Stabilisation fund which was introduced in 2023-24. The Stabilisation funding is allocated to ADPs to develop or bolster existing arrangements for residential stabilisation and crisis care - to help deliver on the Taskforce recommendations made in Changing Lives that will help align crisis care, stabilisation, detox and rehabilitation.

Context for Delivery

National Mission to Reduce Drug Related Deaths and Improve Lives

36. This is the final year of the National Mission announced by the former First Minister in January 2021 and supported by an additional £50 million funding per year for the lifetime of the parliament.

37. The National Mission on drug deaths continues to be a priority for Scottish Ministers and is brought into sharper focus by the threats of a dynamic and increasingly harmful illicit drug supply. Local areas need to prepare for this threat and work with Public Health Scotland to ensure appropriate responses are in place.

38. The aim of the national mission is to reduce deaths and improve lives. To underpin this work, Scottish Government has developed an outcomes framework (appendix 1) which sets out the key outcomes required to achieve this aim.

Alcohol service delivery

39. The Baseline funding is expected to cover both alcohol and drugs. In its review of alcohol and drug services in 2024/25 Audit Scotland has recommended an increase in focus on alcohol services, while maintaining our focus on drugs services. Elements of the National Mission support alcohol service delivery alongside drugs, such as residential rehabilitation, the Charter of Rights, the Whole Family Approach, implementing Workforce strategies and making services more trauma informed. However, in 2025/26 ADPs are expected to maintain focus on actions to support people impacted by alcohol through continued regard to Rights, Respect and Recovery and the Alcohol Framework.

40. The National Mission outcomes framework incorporates and builds on the priorities set out in Rights, Respect and Recovery and the Alcohol Framework which are still relevant in particular for reducing alcohol harm. These priorities cover both alcohol and drugs, with the exception of priority 5, which applies to alcohol only:

• A recovery orientated approach which reduces harms and prevents deaths
• A whole family approach.
• A public health approach to justice.
• Prevention, education, and early intervention.
• A reduction in the affordability, availability, and attractiveness of alcohol.

The Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy)

41. DAISy has been live in all NHS Board areas since 1 April 2021. The system was built and is maintained by Public Health Scotland and it primarily functions as a national database which gathers key demographic and outcome data on people who engage in alcohol/drug treatment services. This information contributes to strategic planning.

42. It is imperative and expected that local areas input data into DAISy as it is an invaluable source of data for monitoring and evaluating drug and alcohol services across Scotland, informing policy development and funding. The Scottish Government is working closely with Public Health Scotland and are considering the remedies and actions that will be taken to improve data compliance.

43. Much of our ability to understand the impact of funding and progress towards our objectives is reliant on having quality and complete data within DAISy. We expect that ADPs (and associated local commissioning bodies) work with service providers to ensure that input to DAISy is a condition of grant that is evaluated alongside delivery outcomes. Without robust data to inform our resource allocations, future funding decisions may not adequately reflect local needs, and it is therefore incumbent upon service providers to ensure they are accounting for their activity.

44. PHS have concluded their review of DAISy and are progressing implementation of improvements. They have undertaken work to engage with delivery partners on how the system may be improved in terms of the user experience, automation of data input, and system outputs. They have also worked closely with ADPs, services, and colleagues in the MAT Implementation Support Team (MIST), to incorporate aspects of MAT implementation reporting into the system, reducing duplication and the administrative data-entry burden. Local MAT evaluation and benchmarking will therefore become reliant on robust submission of data to the system.

Drug and Alcohol Waiting Times

45. The Local Delivery Plan (LDP) standard supports sustained performance in fast access to services and requires that 90% of clients will wait no longer than 3 weeks from referral received to appropriate drug or alcohol treatment that supports their recovery.

46. Nobody will wait longer than 6 weeks to receive appropriate treatment. 100% compliance is expected from services delivering tier 3 and 4 drug and alcohol treatment in Scotland

47. Performance against the Standard will continue to be measured via the Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy). We will use this data to monitor areas who do not meet the target and consider necessary next steps to improve performance in each area and how we can support ADPs at a national level.

Alcohol and Drugs Death Reviews

48. ADPs are required to update and implement plans to carry out death reviews to help drive service improvements aimed at reducing deaths from alcohol and drugs. There are fewer alcohol death reviews carried out at present than drug death reviews. To help deliver on the Audit Scotland recommendation to increase focus on alcohol, ADPs are asked to enhance their alcohol death review process in 2025/26. ADPs should refer to the forthcoming guidance from Public Health Scotland ‘Preventing substance related harms by case review, learning and action following a death’ due for publication in Autumn 2025 and the Alcohol Deaths Review Guidance developed by Alcohol Focus Scotland: Alcohol Focus Scotland.org.uk - Alcohol deaths reviews practical guidance for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and Public Health teams

Planning and Reporting Arrangements

49. ADPs are our primary partner in the delivery of the National Mission and the Alcohol Framework and key to their success. Therefore, a clear commitment to monitoring and evaluation at the local level is vital.

50. We have stepped up our commitment to monitoring and evaluation to support the sharing of what works in different areas and with different communities. We commissioned Public Health Scotland to conduct an independent evaluation of the National Mission. ADPs have been engaged throughout this process (and directly through the ADP Coordinator Survey), and will continue to be essential in supporting the PHS evaluation and broader monitoring and research activity.

51. The annual progress report of the national mission will be published in Autumn 2025. This report will draw on data provided by ADPs and other sources and will set out plans for evaluation going forward. It is therefore important that accurate data recording and reporting is prioritised by ADPs and the services they fund.

52. If you have any queries on the content of this letter, please contact: Drugsmissiondeliveryteam@gov.scot.

Yours sincerely,

Laura Zeballos

Deputy Director, Drug Policy Division

Population Health Directorate