Critics have slammed the decision to scrap the Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce and replace it with another body that is answerable only to the Scottish Government.
The Taskforce was created in 2019 after campaigning by the Daily Record for a proper emergency response to our grotesquely spiralling drug deaths. But it has been regarded as a flop in that regard, as deaths have gone up and now only show signs of hitting a minor dip or plateau.
It will deliver its final recommendations at the end of this month after Scottish drugs policy minister Angela Constance's demands for a hurry-up led to the resignations of the previous chair and vice chair. The Scottish Government’s newly formed National Drugs Mission Oversight Group has already met after being quietly assembled in recent months.
