Lib Dems call for extra funding to tackle problem and warn first minister that party could withdraw its support. Opposition parties have called for a significant increase in addiction funding in Scotland after it emerged that more than 1,500 drug-addicted babies have been born in recent years.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats said data from the country’s health boards showed that around 200 babies were born each year with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a sign their mother was taking addictive drugs or abusing alcohol during pregnancy. Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Lib Dem leader, has urged John Swinney, the first minister, to spend more on tackling drug addiction in the new budget or risk losing his party’s support.
Swinney’s minority government needs votes from at least one opposition party to get its budget passed but its draft plans imply standstill spending on drug and alcohol rehabilitation and support. Scottish Labour has endorsed Cole-Hamilton’s demand.
“There is perhaps no worse start in life for a newborn baby than to be born dependent on drugs,” Cole-Hamilton said. “The Scottish government regularly make the headlines for their mishandling of drug deaths but in a host of other ways drug misuse can make lives a misery.
“Nicola Sturgeon [a previous first minister] cut the budget for drug and alcohol services and predictably this meant some services closing their doors and valuable expertise being lost. The current budget proposed by John Swinney risks making the same mistake again.”.
