Drug and alcohol scheme launched in Moray

SCOTLAND’S first joint drug and alcohol project has been launched in Moray. The Moray Community Planning Partnership is in line with national reforms due to be announced by the Scottish Government this week.

The new body, which has created a part-time research post, will influence the planning and commissioning of services to tackle drug and alcohol problems and ensure services are meeting local need.

Team leader John Campbell said the move gave Moray’s decision makers accountability.

He said: “Moray is now able to react with local intelligence to provide services that reflect local needs.

“We can look at the statistics and the amount of people that have got a problem and then turn that into intelligence that we can use to create services to meet those needs.”

The partnership has representatives from social work, the police, NHS and the voluntary sector, and will report to community and planning partnerships to ensure scarce resources are targeted to greatest need.

The community and planning partnerships will be responsible for ensuring that the public is informed and engaged in how services should evolve to deal with local alcohol and drug issues.

Sandy Riddell, Moray Council’s director of community services, said he was “very encouraged” by the new reforms which will for the first time ensure that drug and alcohol issues are fully considered at the community planning table.