STEWART PATERSON met with SNP leader
NICOLA STURGEON on the campaign trail in Govan to ask questions on a range of issues including the education attainment gap, child poverty rates, drug deaths and why the council tax hasn’t been scrapped.
Stewart Paterson: “You said previously, closing the poverty related attainment gap was one of your top priorities, if not the top priority. Has that been a success or a failure?”
Nicola Sturgeon: “I think it’s been work in progress and the progress is good progress, particularly in Glasgow we are seeing many more young people leave school with qualifications and good qualifications and we have seen the attainment gap narrow. I think that is a credit to teachers, parents and kids across the city and yes, I would say there is good progress.
The Dundee Drugs Commission could be reconvened to review progress on the implementation of its recommendations.
And city partners are optimistic that funding will soon be received to test ways to integrate substance misuse and mental health services and improve 24-hour crisis care.
Dundee City Council’s policy & resources committee will consider a report on the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) – Action Plan for Change at its next meeting on Monday February 22.
The Dundee Partnership – made up of representatives from key local public agencies, academic institutions and representatives of the business, voluntary and community sector – published the action plan in 2019 following the report of the commission.
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Efforts to tackle Scotland’s drug death crisis have been branded a failure as another record number of people dead was reported. The official figures for 2019 showed that the number who died increased again, from last year’s record, to 1264. In Glasgow, the number of men and women who died from a drug related death was similar to last year’s record total. In 2019 there were 279 deaths in the city, just one fewer than in 2018. There were 191 men and 88 women who died. It is an average of more than five drug related deaths a week in Glasgow. The changing pattern of drug use in the most problematic of drug users can be seen in the report.