Not a clue what he is on about. Its a handball if a Killie players scores an OG but if a Hearts player scores its a goal. #GameisGone
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Scottish Fish and Chip Awards 2026 nominations named - see full list of chippies dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-n…
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RJ retweeted
We are giving away our prototype zero-torque putter.
Not on the website yet - no one else has one.
Here's how to win.
• Retweet this tweet
• Fill out the form in the next tweet
70 lie
3 loft
303 Stainless Steel
Winner can choose the below:
• RH or LH
• Length
• Black or Chrome Shaft
Runs through Monday, 2/2 at 5:00 pm Central. Winner will be selected by 6:00 pm Central on 2/2.
Why Men Are Happier...
NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla and Four-eyes.
EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in £20, even though it’s only for £32.50.
None of them will have anything smaller, and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.
MONEY
A man will pay £2 for a £1 item he needs. A woman will pay £1 for a £2 item that she doesn’t need, but it’s on sale.
BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, a razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
The average number of items in the typical woman’s bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.
ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.
FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
SUCCESS
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.
MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t. A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, but she does.
DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favourite foods, secret fears, hopes and dreams. A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
A married man should forget his mistakes.
There’s no use in two people remembering the same thing!
RJ retweeted
Scotland now spends £293 every time someone injects heroin in Glasgow, and the SNP are calling it a success.
A year into this £2.3m‑a‑year “fix room”, drug deaths are rising, synthetic opioid deaths are at record levels, and only 3% of Glasgow’s 18,000 problem drug users even use the facility. That’s £4,000 per addict for a policy that hasn’t reduced deaths and hasn’t cleaned up the streets.
Locals report more needles and more anti‑social behaviour. The council denies it… then quietly installs extra needle bins. Says it all.
And despite having no evidence the pilot works, the SNP are already rolling out more sites, Edinburgh next, Dundee after that, while rejecting a Right to Recovery Bill that would have guaranteed rehab for every addict.
Millions to supervise illegal drug use. No money for mandatory treatment. Rising deaths. Rising costs. Falling accountability.
But aye, apparently this is “world‑leading”.
RJ retweeted
So let me get this straight. @AllanCasey89 175 complaints, 195 police callouts, and a 33% rise in suspected drug deaths in just three months and we’re still pretending The Thistle is “part of the solution”? @AllanCasey89 claims this crisis isn’t new. But the community isn’t saying drug use started in January. They’re saying it got worse, fast and now, the council’s own figures back that up. They were ignored, gaslit, then blamed for “spreading misinformation.” Now the truth’s out, and what’s the response? PR threads and press quotes.
Let’s be clear - the residents were right all along. There has been an escalation. The needles, the disturbances, the crime stats, it’s all there in black and white. You told these people it was “business as usual” while deploying needle bins and diggers just to manage the fallout.
@AnnieWellsMSP Thank you for your call to support #OorBill the Right to Recovery Bill, because unlike a needle bin, it gives people a chance to actually get well. You do have the right to say this is a reckless experiment, because it is, a publicly funded, pharmaceutical-incentivised normalisation of addiction in the name of harm reduction.
But here’s where I diverge from both Casey and Wells:
This is not a party-political issue. It’s a humanitarian one. And both sides need to stop using our dead as props in a turf war.
To Cllr Casey:
You talk about “saving lives,” but that’s a half-truth. The Thistle is reversing overdoses yes. But there’s no pathway to recovery. No detox. No rehab. No exit plan. You’re just prolonging the misery. And when residents complain, they’re told to be more compassionate as if the real problem is their tone, not the trauma.
To Annie Wells:
Thank you for backing Right to Recovery. But this fight is about more than a Bill. It’s about challenging a quango classwho’ve grown rich off the rhetoric of harm reduction while presiding over rising deaths and collapsing communities. We need courage, not soundbites.
Because if it means a life stuck in chemical management, supervised injecting, and pharmaceutical maintenance, then the word has lost all meaning.
The people of the Calton aren’t NIMBYs. They’re not extremists. They’re not “abstinence heads.”
They’re parents, workers, grandparents, and recovering addicts who are sick of burying their loved ones and sweeping up the mess no one else will face.
And they deserve better than this circus.
#RightToRecovery
#CaltonSpeaks
#NotJustSurvival
Drug consumption room leads to abandoned needles complaints heraldscotland.com/news/2523…
RJ retweeted
🚨 Drug deaths in Scotland just jumped 33% but you won’t hear that in the headlines.
Between Jan–Mar 2025, 308 people died from suspected drug overdoses. That’s up 33% in 3 months.
Male deaths rose 44%. Under-25 deaths up 80%.
📍Worst-hit areas: Greater Glasgow: 61 Ayrshire: 36
Lanarkshire: 33
But here’s the political stitch-up:
🗳️ The public won’t see these deaths in the official stats until after the 2026 election.
Why? Because they fall into the 2025 figures and those won’t be published until summer 2026.
👇 So when politicians boast this summer that “2024 drug deaths went down”…
Remember this: The crisis didn’t end. It just went quiet.
And now it’s roaring back.
gov.scot/publications/suspec…
308 suspected drug deaths in Jan–Mar 2025, a 33% increase from the previous quarter.
Male deaths surged by 44%, while female deaths remained relatively stable.
Under-25 deaths rose by 80%, albeit from a low base.
The biggest hotspots remain Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire, and Lanarkshire.
Despite a fall in annual rolling totals, the recent quarterly spike suggests the crisis is far from over — just masked by outdated or lagging statistics.
The timing is politically significant. With the 2026 election looming, this early 2025 surge won’t be visible in the official NRS stats (which voters are most likely to see) until after they’ve cast their ballots.
Suspected drug deaths increased in the first quarter of 2025. According to recent figures, there were 308 suspected drug deaths between January and March 2025. This was 33% (76) more than the previous quarter.
Suspected drug deaths in Scotland continue to remain at a high level. (Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, The Scottish Government, 10 June 2025.
There were 244 suspected drug deaths of males, 44% (75) more than during the previous quarter and 4% (10) more than during the same period of 2024. There were 64 suspected drug deaths of females, 2% (1) more than during the previous quarter. (Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, The Scottish Government, 10 June 2025.
There were 9 suspected drug deaths in the under 25 age group, 80% (4) more than during the previous quarter. The majority (63%) of suspected drug deaths were of people aged between 35 and 54. This is broadly in line with previous quarters. (Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, The Scottish Government, 10 June 2025.
The Police Divisions with the greatest number of suspected drug deaths were: Greater Glasgow (61), Ayrshire (36) and Lanarkshire (33). (Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: January to March 2025, The Scottish Government, 10 June 2025.
Replying to @Glasgowweegie @Erudite4Unity
🗳️ Will the spike in drug deaths be seen before the next Holyrood election?
No it won’t.
Scotland's next election is in May 2026.
The official 2024 drug death figures (covering January–December) will be published in summer 2025, before the election.
But the 17% spike in deaths happened between December 2024 and February 2025 — meaning it falls into the 2025 stats, which won’t be published until after the election (summer 2026).
👉 The public won’t see the full impact of the spike until after they vote.
🕵️ Could this spike be due to delayed reporting?
It’s a fair question — and not paranoid.
Early death figures (RADAR) come from police alerts. The final official stats (NRS) take months because they include toxicology and full investigation.
So yes, some 2024 deaths might be logged late and show up in early 2025.
But that shouldn’t be enough to cause a full 17% jump — especially since the rest of 2024 showed a steady decline in deaths.
📉 The 2024 trend:
Quarter Suspected Deaths Jan–Mar 2024 (294) Apr–Jun 2024 (267) Jul–Sep 2024 (225) Oct–Dec 2024 215
✅ That’s a 27% drop from Q1 to Q4.
Then suddenly, from Dec 2024–Feb 2025: 251 deaths a 17% jump.
🚨 Why this matters:
The government may point to falling deaths in 2024 as “proof” things are improving.
But the reality is: the next crisis has already begun — and it won’t be visible in official stats until after the election.
“The danger didn’t go away it just went quiet. And now it’s roaring back.”
RJ retweeted
There are striking similarities between Prof @KeithNHumphreys 2024 Brookings report on the collapse of Pacific Northwest drug policy reform and what is currently unfolding in Calton, Glasgow. .
@ConnorGillies @SkyNews @AllanCasey89 @hannahjtw @Georgia_Edkins
Here’s a breakdown of the key parallels that show Glasgow is following a dangerously familiar trajectory:
1. Promises vs. Outcomes
In Portland, San Francisco, and Vancouver, residents were told that Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) and harm reduction policies would reduce public drug use, restore order, and save lives.
In Calton, similar promises were made. But local residents are reporting more public injecting, more drug litter, and less safety — exactly the same trajectory Humphreys documents.
Humphreys: “Public safety collapsed. Crime and disorder soared. And faith in drug policy reform was shattered.”
(Source: Humphreys, 2024. Brookings. brookings.edu/articles/the-r…)
2. Overdose Deaths Continued to Rise
Humphreys shows overdose deaths skyrocketed despite expanded harm reduction — +43.9% in Oregon and +41.7% in Washington.
While it’s early days for Glasgow’s DCR, the lack of rapid access to detox and rehab mirrors the systemic gapsHumphreys identifies as fatal flaws.
3. Communities Were Not Consulted
In the Pacific Northwest, many reforms were imposed, not debated. Voters and local communities were sidelined.
In Calton, @CllrCeliaOLone @CllrDempsey & @CllrTKerr admitted the DCR was “a done deal” — confirming what Humphreys warns against: policy made without democratic legitimacy.
4. Harm Reduction Became a Substitute for Treatment
Humphreys exposes that in many cities, "treatment services were not expanded" — instead, money was funnelled into harm reduction, while abstinence pathways were neglected or even scorned.
In Glasgow, with over £48 million going to harm reduction and less than £2 million to recovery, the same imbalance is now entrenched.
5. Critics Were Dismissed as Backward or Stigmatising
Humphreys explains how advocates labelled resistance as “stigma” rather than engaging with legitimate community fears.
In Scotland, residents raising concerns are accused of spreading “misinformation”, and those in recovery are dismissed as “abstinence heads”. It's the same playbook of silencing.
6. Advocates Refused to Admit Policy Failure
Even after soaring overdose deaths and record crime, advocates in San Francisco and Oregon doubled down, insisting the policies needed “more time”.
That’s happening in Glasgow too: officials are already excusing The Thistle’s problems as “teething issues”, despite growing public outcry.
7. Public Trust Collapsed
Humphreys details how communities that once tolerated reform turned against it when they saw no safety, no recovery, and no accountability.
In Calton, residents are now paying extra for clean-ups they never agreed to, while councillors deny their reality. That erosion of trust is already in motion.
Conclusion:
Calton is walking straight into the same policy disaster that unfolded across the Pacific Northwest. Humphreys' report is not just a warning, it’s a roadmap of what happens when you impose ideology over evidence, and narrative over neighbourhoods.
Unless Glasgow changes course, and fast the end will look hauntingly familiar.
. @ConnorGillies @SkyNews @AllanCasey89 @hannahjtw
The Spin Machine Has a Salary. Welcome to the Addiction PR Industry.
While the people of the Calton wade through bloodied needles and pay out of pocket for drug litter clean-ups they never agreed to, the Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF) is hiring not one, but two content creators on salaries totalling nearly £80,000. [See link below.]
Why? To “amplify voices” and promote a carefully curated harm reduction narrative — funded with unrestricted pharmaceutical grants from Ethypharm and Camurus, makers of methadone, naloxone, and Buvidal.
You couldn’t script it better.
While residents are told their experience is “anecdotal” and “unscientific,” the addiction PR machine rolls on crafting a narrative that conveniently aligns with the commercial interests of those profiting from dependency. This isn’t journalism. It’s marketing wrapped in moral posturing.
Meanwhile, as @ConnorGillies and @SkyNews made painfully clear, reality on the ground is collapsing. In the Calton, children’s sandpits are swept with metal detectors. Residents are finding blood-stained hospital gowns, faeces, and needles lodged in trees. Drug dens are popping up metres from primary schools.
And what’s the official response from @AllanCasey89?
“There’s no increase in reports.”
The public is gaslit. The bureaucracy is rewarded. And those left to live with the consequences? Ignored.
Then there’s @hannahjtw dismissing Sky’s exposé as “frenzied and irresponsible,” while branding anyone who questions the orthodoxy as “abstinence heads.”
Really, Hannah?
That’s what we’re calling people now mother’s, fathers, people in recovery, and community advocates who want children to walk to school without dodging syringes? People who believe in full recovery, not just maintenance?
Labelling them like that isn’t clever. It’s cowardly. It’s the tactic of someone defending a fragile ideology not someone engaging in serious journalism. It flattens debate, erases lived experience, and says far more about your contempt than their convictions.
To be fair, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. You’re young perhaps naive to the industry you joe find yourself in . But if we’re talking about integrity, evidence, and stigma, then let’s be honest: the entire harm reduction communications network in Scotland is being bankrolled by governments failing policy & whose business model depends on keeping people stuck in dependency.
This isn’t just narrative control.
It’s narrative capture with a pharmaceutical pipeline.
So the next time someone accuses Calton residents or recovery advocates of “stoking stigma,” ask two simple questions:
Who’s funding your story?
And who’s paying the price for it?
🔗 xitter.cf/Annemarieward/status/1…
RJ retweeted
⸻
Calton Speaks, Holyrood Ignores @JohnSwinney @AllanCasey89 @CllrTKerr @CllrDempsey
Tonight in St Luke’s, Glasgow, something extraordinary happened. The people of the Calton, a community long ignored, patronised, and pathologised stood up and told the truth.
The room was packed. Residents, councillors, journalists. And what they heard was brutal.
@CllrCeliaOLone - Labour openly admitted what so many have suspected: there was never a real debate about the Drug Consumption Room on Hunter Street in the city chambers . “It was a done deal,” she said. That was her actual phrase. She was backed up immediately by Councillor Dempsey (Independent, formerly Labour) and Councillor Kerr (now Reform UK), who confirmed that councillors were never given the chance to scrutinise the policy. It was simply imposed.
That’s when I said it plainly: if elected councillors weren’t consulted, and the community is telling us they weren’t consulted, then any so-called “consultation” was political theatre. Performative. A smokescreen. Democracy didn’t fail here — it was never even invited.
And then the stories started flowing. One after another. Residents saying they’re scared to walk to the bingo. Scared to take their kids out. Front steps being used as toilets. Drug deals and public safety injecting in broad daylight. A nursery school checking first - using a metal detector in the sand pit and garden daily before they let the kids out to play. Calls to the police going nowhere. One mother spoke through tears about her son. A young man spoke out too, he wants rehab, wants to get clean, but all he’s being offered is more methadone, more diamorphine. State-sanctioned sedation. That’s what passes for “treatment” in this country now.
I asked the room: Has it got worse since the DCR opened? And the entire place erupted — “FUCK YEAH!” That wasn’t a whisper. That was the voice of a community crying out. I turned to the press and said, Did you hear that? Because John Swinney has the gall to stand in Holyrood and accuse people like this of “spreading misinformation.”
Let me be clear: what I witnessed tonight wasn’t misinformation. It was grief. Rage. Helplessness. A community gaslit by its own government.
These aren’t people who hate addicts they love them. They are them. They’re mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, trying to get help for the people they love. But instead of hope, they’re being handed managed decline.
Glasgow didn’t choose this. It was done to them. And now that the public have spoken, loudly and clearly, the only question is this:
Will anyone in power finally listen?
You can read more in this article which was written during the meeting:
glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scot…
RJ retweeted
"The claim that 'no one has asked for rehab' is utterly disingenuous. Let’s be clear, Glasgow hasn’t meaningfully offered access to residential rehab for over 20 years. The city funds just 23 rehab beds for a population drowning in addiction and drug deaths. People don’t ask for what they know doesn’t exist. It’s like blaming a drowning man for not asking for a lifeboat when all you’ve handed him is a sticking plaster.
"This is not a policy rooted in compassion, it’s a policy of containment. The Thistle is not a bridge to treatment; it’s a holding pen, keeping people alive in misery with no clear way out. Managing overdoses without offering structured treatment is not ethical care, it’s political theatre.
"Let’s stop pretending otherwise: Scotland’s addiction policy has become addicted to harm reduction. Millions are spent on services to keep people using safely, but almost nothing is invested in helping them stop. This isn’t compassion. It’s institutional neglect.
Local residents in the East End of Glasgow are right to be concerned. Since the DCR opened, reports of increased drug activity and visible addiction have grown. That is the inevitable consequence of a system that enables dependency but refuses to fund recovery.
"At FAVOR UK, we are not anti-DCR. We are anti a system that stops at harm reduction and refuses to invest in a full continuum of care: detox, residential rehab, aftercare, and long-term recovery support. Until there is a serious and funded pathway out of addiction, facilities like The Thistle will simply keep people stuck in the revolving door of crisis. Keeping people alive is the bare minimum. Giving them a chance to live free from addiction should be the goal.
"Keeping people alive in misery with no clear way out. Managing overdoses without offering structured treatment is not ethical care, it’s political theatre" Says @Annemarieward "Let’s stop pretending otherwise:
scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/n…
"Scotland’s addiction policy has become addicted to harm reduction. Millions are spent on services to keep people using safely, but almost nothing is invested in helping them stop. This isn’t compassion. It’s institutional neglect.
Local residents in the East End of Glasgow are right to be concerned. Since the DCR opened, reports of increased drug activity and visible addiction have grown. That is the inevitable consequence of a system that enables dependency but refuses to fund recovery.
"The claim that 'no one has asked for rehab' is utterly disingenuous. Let’s be clear, Glasgow hasn’t meaningfully offered access to residential rehab for over 20 years. The city funds just 23 rehab beds for a population drowning in addiction and drug deaths. People don’t ask for what they know doesn’t exist. It’s like blaming a drowning man for not asking for a lifeboat when all you’ve handed him is a sticking plaster.
"At FAVOR UK, we are not anti-DCR. We are anti a system that stops at harm reduction and refuses to invest in a full continuum of care: detox, residential rehab, aftercare, and long-term recovery support. Until there is a serious and funded pathway out of addiction, facilities like The Thistle will simply keep people stuck in the revolving door of crisis. Keeping people alive is the bare minimum. Giving them a chance to live free from addiction should be the goal."
RJ retweeted
This is one of the best things you will ever read about Scotland’s failed war on addiction - If you haven't read this already please do - @CarltonBrick the author recently joined our board and I'm incredibly grateful for his guidance.
cieo.org.uk/research/scotlan…
RJ retweeted
🚨 SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT QUIETLY RELEASES DRUG DEATH REPORT
📅 Published today (25 March 2025) without fanfare. Here's why you should care 👇
🔹 1,172 drug deaths were recorded in 2023 — a 12% increase from 2022
🔹 This is the second-highest total in six years
🔹 Cocaine deaths hit record highs
🔹 Hepatitis C cases up 31%
🔹 The poorest communities are 15x more likely to die from drugs
🔹 Thousands with opioid dependence are still receiving no treatment at all !
All of this under the so-called “National Mission” to tackle drug deaths.
Meanwhile, access to residential rehab remains limited, and people in the poorest areas are left with nothing but methadone while wealthier individuals access real recovery options.
Scotland deserves better than quiet failures.
📄 Read the full report here:
👉 gov.scot/publications/nation…
#RightToRecovery #DrugDeathsCrisis #Scotland #RecoveryNow #AddictionTreatment #PublicHealth
RJ retweeted
Following my visit last week to a car park overlooking the Thistle drug consumption facility, today, I asked the Scottish Government what community safety measures it has to tackle antisocial behaviour and improper needle disposal around the Thistle.
Their response? They’re aware of the issue, working with the community, and encouraging people to report concerns. But this ignores the bigger question—why is street injecting still happening right next to a facility designed to prevent it? Official statements continue to downplay the reality on the ground.
RJ retweeted
Sky News report on the "Safe Consumption Room" has inadvertently laid bare what a failure the place really is.
RJ retweeted
I'm stunned that @AllanCasey89 isn' t asking himself why he's getting rolled out to the press as the fall guy when it comes to this disaster. £2.3 Million for Supervised Drug Use- When It Could Fund Nearly 200 Rehab Placements?
Glasgow City Council’s latest announcement confirms what many of us have been warning about for years, Scotland’s leadership is prioritising drug use management over real recovery. They are boasting about over 1,000 drug-taking episodes at the new Drug Consumption Room (DCR), yet where is the same urgency to expand detox, residential rehab, and long-term recovery support?
A Costly Experiment with No Clear Exit Strategy
With £2.3 million allocated, the cost per user at the DCR now stands at an astonishing £2,298 per week. That’s:
More than double the cost of a residential rehab bed, which provides an actual path to recovery.
Enough to fund nearly two years' worth of rehab placements—giving 192 people a real opportunity to break free from addiction.
Glasgow claims it is Funding Around 116 Rehab Placements each for 12 weeks on average from it available 23 funded beds.
According to recent figures, Glasgow City ADP is spending £1.39 million per year on residential rehab, funding approximately 116 placements annually.
For the £2.3 million spent on the DCR, Glasgow could have funded nearly two years’ worth of placements—helping almost 200 people access real, structured treatment instead of maintaining their addiction.
Instead, the government has prioritised supervising drug use rather than investing in solutions that actually help people recover.
A Service That Needs Ambulances Isn’t a Success
Let’s be clear: If any other healthcare intervention routinely required emergency medical intervention, there would be an outcry.
Glasgow's health and social care partnership
@GCHSCP @GlasgowCC @NHSGGC all admits ambulances have been called multiple times, yet instead of reassessing this approach, @AllanCasey89 is celebrating it.
How many of these 143 individuals have been supported into detox, rehab, or structured recovery programmes?
What is the actual outcome beyond supervising injections?
The Scottish Government’s Failed Priorities
Scotland has one of the worst drug-related death rates in Europe, yet the government continues to prioritise the illusion of containment over real treatment.
£2.3 million spent to help people keep using drugs.
£1.39 million per year spent on Glasgow’s entire rehab system.
For the money spent on this DCR, Glasgow could fund nearly 200 rehab placements.
This Is Not Progress—It’s a "Managed" Descent into Further Harm
Until the government invests in real treatment, rehab, detox, and long-term recovery services—this will remain a sticking plaster on a gaping wound. It is not progress, it is not a solution, and it is certainly not a responsible use of public money.
The people of Glasgow and Scotland deserve better.
Detailed expenditure data for each Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) in Scotland on residential rehabilitation services is not comprehensively published in a centralised manner. However, the "Interim Monitoring Report on Statutory-Funded Residential Rehabilitation Placements" by Public Health Scotland provides insights into the number of placements and associated estimated costs approved by each ADP between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2024.§publichealthscotland.scot
According to the report, a total of 2,290 statutory-funded placements for residential rehabilitation were approved in Scotland during this period, with an estimated total cost of £21,647,768. The report includes a breakdown of placements and estimated costs by each ADP, offering a detailed view of how resources were allocated across different regions.
The full report is here
publichealthscotland.scot/me…
It says the breakdown in the available data from the Interim Monitoring Report on Statutory-Funded Residential Rehabilitation Placements (Public Health Scotland, 2024)
The layers to how bad this is are further explained here
xitter.cf/Annemarieward/status/1…


















