Residential rehabilitation bed capacity in Scotland, September 2024

Introduction

The level of harms from alcohol and drugs in Scotland are high and cause avoidable damage to people’s lives, families and communities. Tackling the high level of drug and alcohol related deaths and harms in Scotland is a priority for the Scottish Government.

In January 2021, the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a statement to Parliament which set out a National Mission to reduce drug deaths and improve lives through a range of improvements to treatment, recovery and other support services. This complements and builds upon Rights, Respect and Recovery (2018), Scotland’s alcohol and drug strategy. The Scottish Government has committed £100 million over the span of the National Mission to expand access to residential rehabilitation treatment, which includes capital funding for new rehabilitation facilities (£18 million over five years).

The current First Minister announced his first Programme for Government in September 2024. This included the commitment to reduce the level of deaths and harms caused by alcohol and drugs in Scotland by delivering the National Mission, which includes widening access to residential rehabilitation and increasing capacity by 50% to 650 beds by 2026.

This publication builds on the data presented on residential rehabilitation bed capacity in Scotland in 2021.