Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss has been campaigning for secure areas for customers to take substances beneath medical supervision for various years.

But after a report by Westminster’s Home Affairs Committee advisable UK ministers again the set-up of a pilot scheme in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest metropolis, she stated there may be now a necessity for pressing motion.

The report recommends the Scottish and UK governments work collectively to fund the scheme.

Scottish ministers have been urgent for drug regulation reform, together with secure consumption services, nevertheless Westminster has beforehand dominated this out.

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The committee report additionally recommends that drug legal guidelines are devolved to the Scottish Parliament if the UK Government stays unwilling to assist the pilot.

It comes as figures printed final week revealed drug deaths in Scotland had fallen to their lowest since 2017, to 1,051. However, the nation nonetheless has the best dying charge in Europe.

Ms Thewliss stated the report is “important recognition” that quick motion is required at a Westminster stage, together with reforming the Misuse of Drugs Act.

She stated: “The Tories can no longer ignore the need for urgent reform of the UK’s drug laws. They must accept the recommendations of the cross-party Home Affairs Committee report and the demands the SNP has made for years for safe consumption rooms.

“Safe consumption rooms are not a silver bullet when it comes to drug deaths in Scotland, but they do have a part to play in a joined up approach from every level of government to combat drug-related deaths, and – as this committee agrees – could save lives.

“The Misuse of Drugs Act is over fifty years old and must now be reviewed as a matter of urgency. Criminalising drug users has done nothing but entrench a problem that sees far too many people die each year.

“We mustn’t see more lives needlessly lost. This report is an important recognition that swift change is needed, but it must be followed with action from the UK Government.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine stated: “No one can seriously look at UK drug laws and the spike in drug deaths that we have seen in recent years and conclude that the present system is serving anybody well.”

She added: “This report must act as a catalyst for a new and more humane approach to drugs policy in the UK.”

We welcome this report from the Home Affairs Committee which endorses our place on safer drug consumption services and helps the proposal to pilot such a facility in Scotland

Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Elena Whitham stated: “We are doing everything within our powers to tackle drug deaths in Scotland, including investing an additional £250 million in our national mission to save and improve lives.

“We welcome this report from the Home Affairs Committee which endorses our position on safer drug consumption facilities (SDCFs) and supports the proposal to pilot such a facility in Scotland.

“We have long called for agreement from the UK Government to allow us to do this, whether to support us in establishing a pilot or through devolving the necessary powers to allow us to do so.

“It has always been in the UK Government’s power to accelerate the delivery of an SDCF.

“If it was serious about looking to improve outcomes for people affected by problem substance use it could use powers reserved to it to support what we are already doing within devolved powers, or devolve the appropriate powers to us so we could move to implement a facility as quickly as possible.”