No confidence motion in Public Health Minister lodged at Holyrood

A motion of no confidence in Public Health Minister Joe FitzPatrick has been lodged at the Scottish Parliament, with two opposition parties saying they want him to step down.

Mr FitzPatrick has faced calls to resign after yearly drug death figures were released earlier this week, showing a rise to a new record high of 1,264 in 2019.

Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats are now formally calling for him to go.

Labour’s Monica Lennon submitted a motion of no confidence in the minister on Friday, citing “his inadequate response to tackling drug-related deaths”.

The Scottish Greens have said they will consider their position on the motion in the coming days and the Conservatives say they will work with anyone who is “serious” about dealing with the issue.

Ms Lennon said: “Under Joe FitzPatrick’s watch, Scotland’s drug deaths crisis is becoming more and more tragic by the day.

“It’s clear that the Public Health Minister does not carry the confidence of the recovery community and those who are desperately fighting for access to treatment and rehab services.

“Regardless of what MSPs think of Joe as a person, that’s what matters most.”

The Lib Dems’ health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Joe FitzPatrick is a likeable public figure but has shown repeatedly that he’s just not up to the job.

“He has publicly floundered when questioned about the vaccine and the devastating drug death statistics.

“He simply does not command the confidence of our party and very likely the parliament.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Greens said that “Scotland’s drugs death toll is shameful and both governments are accountable”, while the party’s MSPs would consider the motion of no confidence in the coming days.

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “After 13 years of failure, no-one can have any confidence in Nicola Sturgeon’s disastrous drugs strategy.

“We urged the First Minister to agree to our proposed £20 million funding for rehabilitation but got no commitment.

“All focus should be on the urgent public health crisis of Scotland’s drugs deaths epidemic.

“We remain willing to work with anyone who is sincere about dealing with this issue.”

On Thursday, Nicola Sturgeon described the drug death figures as “completely unacceptable” and admitted the Scottish Government needed to do more to tackle the issue.

She is due to report to MSPs again in January after she meets a Scottish Government taskforce which is considering a number of public health interventions.

At First Minister’s Questions, she pledged to “work with” Mr FitzPatrick to improve the situation as opposition parties accused her government of cutting its funding for rehabilitation beds.