Dundee’s education chief insists that Scotland’s proposed named person scheme could have an impact on reducing drug deaths.
Councillor Stewart Hunter, convener of education with the local authority, was speaking after the Tele had revealed the impact of drug deaths in Tayside including children who have been left without a parent as a result of substance misuse.
Mr Hunter says he’s keen to use named person legislation, which is proposed by the Scottish Government, to get support to parents as soon as they are expecting a child in an effort to prevent the children falling into a life of drugs.
He told the Tele: “I want to make sure we protect future generations of city children from falling into drug abuse.
“If that means getting advice and guidance to parents even before a child is born that’s what we’ll do.”
Mr Hunter says there is a lot of “good work” going on in schools in the city to educate kids, but insists the authority will do “everything it can” to reduce figures which show that 66 folk in Tayside died from drugs in 2015 alone.
He said: “We are already doing a lot of work with the attainment challenge about turning young people’s lives round with early intervention to close the attainment gap.
“However, it occurs to me that it might also tackle long-term the city’s drug problem.
“We do have a major drugs problem in the city and the latest drug death figures are very concerning.
“I believe that by getting the word out to families and children we should begin to see the situation improving.
“However, I appreciate there’s no quick fix to this and education is a longer-term answer.” He added: “I will do everything I can to explain to children from as young as possible about the dangers of drugs.
“For me I want to know we are doing everything we can to tackle the problem.
“I know the commitment is there from schools and from the department.
“I don’t want there to be more that we could have done and we didn’t do it.
“I want to talk to NHS Tayside to make sure we work together to tackle this.”
The Tele revealed last week how 35 Tayside children lost a parent due to drug deaths in 2015.
It led to calls from Davie and Loraine Dodds, the parents of drug death victim Debbie Dodds, for more to be done to stop people “selling drugs to their neighbours”.
The named person proposal could see every child in Scotland allocated with a professional to act as a single point of contact for a range of issues.