28 September 2023 , 11:30
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Suella Braverman has lashed out after the UK's first drug consumption room was given the go-ahead for users in Glasgow.
The facility will offer a "safe" space for people to inject drugs under medical supervision following years of campaigning. MPs have called for the scheme to be widened, but the Home Office has said it has no intention of doing so.
The Home Secretary has branded it the "wrong policy" after the £2.3million facility was approved by the Glasgow City Integration Joint Board (IJB), which is made up of NHS and council officials. Last month cross-party MPs say the Government's "abstinence-only approach" isn't working as they called for sweeping changes.
Ms Braverman told ITV: "My view is it's the wrong policy and I don't support the policy of drug consumption rooms. I don't believe they deal with the root cause of addiction and drug dependency. So I would not support that policy."
But Rishi Sunak has confirmed the UK Government will not block the drug consumption room planned in Glasgow. Asked if he would do so during an interview with STV he said: "No, that's exactly as I said, we respect the independence of the advocate general in Scotland whilst... we disagree with the drug consumption rooms elsewhere because we think they condone illegal drug use, and that's not something that we think is right."
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The move in Glasgow has been under consideration since 2016 following an HIV outbreak in the city. The Commons Home Affairs Committee has called for "safe consumption facilities" to be set up, allowing users to inject drugs under medical supervision. Members said this would reduce the risk of overdose and the transmission of blood borne diseases.
Scotland's Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has announced it would not be in the "public interest" to prosecute drug users at the facility. But Susanne Millar, chief officer of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, said there are still "operational challenges" to overcome.
She said discussions are ongoing over what happens if people are arrested on their way to the consumption room. Ms Millar said there are a number of "operational challenges" but added: "We will open the service with a full understanding of what the set of circumstances are."
Dr Saket Priyadarshi, associate medical director at Glasgow's Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services, said approval of the facility is a "really important moment" for tackling drug misuse in the city. He added that it will give medical experts the ability to tailor rehab and housing support services to users' needs.
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said he "very much welcomes" the decision to approve the facility. He added: "I'm very grateful to Glasgow for moving at pace, and let me say unequivocally the Scottish Government is ready to stand alongside Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership and colleagues within local government to advance this proposition as quickly as we possibly can, obviously within the confines of the pilot that was proposed."
Home Office minister Chris Philp said previously the UK Government does not support such facilities in England and Wales, over concern they "condone or even encourage" drug use. But he added his department is "not going to stand in the way" of the pilot in Scotland provided the power is exercised lawfully.
Last month a A Home Office spokesman said: “There is no safe way to take illegal drugs, which devastate lives, ruin families and damage communities, and we have no plans to consider this. Our 10-year Drugs Strategy set out ambitious plans, backed with a record £3 billion funding over three years to tackle the supply of illicit drugs through relentless policing action and building a world-class system of treatment and recovery to turn people's lives around and prevent crime.”
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