Dundee’s SNP administration has brought forward proposals to reconvene the independent Dundee Drugs Commission, chaired by Robert Peat and has announced its intention to provide additional funding to tackle the drugs scourge.
The Commission met during 2018/19 and delivered its robust action plan and recommendations to the Dundee Partnership in 2019.
The Policy & Resources Committee heard that there has been some significant progress made in taking forward actions within the plan, in spite of covid-19.
The SNP administration is also proposing, as part of their budget, an additional £0.5 million to support the action plan, over and above the additional resources announced by the Scottish Government.
Carry forward from 2020/21 will result in additional funding of £900k being made available. In 2020 five nurses were also brought in to support preventative drug work in the city.
Councillor Ken Lynn, SNP spokesman for Health and Social Care said: “We need to continue to challenge ourselves and partners to do more. Progress has been made but we want to continue to accelerate the pace of change and to ultimately, save as many lives as possible.
“That’s why I’m pleased that as part of our budget proposals, the SNP will provide extra financial support to tackle the drugs issues facing the city.
“The reconvening of the drugs commission will also ensure robust oversight and an independent view on progress to date. I welcome their insight, expertise and look forward to working with them to accelerate progress.”
Leader of Dundee City Council, Councillor John Alexander added, “We are all acutely aware of the challenges ahead and how much of an impact covid-19 has had across every community but we are laser focussed on tackling this issue.
“We created the drugs commission because we wanted an honest appraisal of where we were delivering and where we were failing. With a focussed agenda, additional resources and the expertise of the commission and partners, we can make real inroads.”