Designated Place

Cathy Jamieson MSP opening £250,000 redeveloped Designated Place
in 2004

Discrete entrance to new Designated Place and Office Suite

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LABOUR GETS BEHIND DESIGNATED PLACES CAMPAIGN

Labour in the Scottish Parliament
Wednesday 18 March 2008

A former Labour Justice Minister is supporting a campaign to keep a Designated Place for people who have been affected by drink problems in Aberdeen.

Cathy Jamieson, Deputy Leader of the Party in Holyrood is backing calls for Albyn House in Aberdeen to be kept open but is also calling for more designated places to be created across Scotland.

Ms Jamieson said:

“Designated Places like Albyn House are vital to protect those affected by drink. When I was Justice Minister I took the decision to promote Designated Places and support them and indeed I opened the Designated Place in Aberdeen back in 2004

“They safely and effectively deal with the unfortunate human consequences of excessive drinking and allows those arrested by the Police to be cared for in the right environment.

“Closing Albyn House is utterly short-sighted. There are no other facilities designed to deal with this problem and the consequence will be that NHS, social services and police resources will be stretched even further.

“People who are very drunk who are not dealt with are likely to either commit or become victims of more serious offences such as assaults.

“Albyn House needs to continue its fine work and become a model for the rest of Scotland.

"The SNP need to understand that government is about more than just talking about services like these. Kenny MacAskill saw for himself the great work that this organisation does and yet he's  willing to allow it to close."

NOTES

1. Designated Places are environments where Police can take
those heavily under the influence of alcohol to get care in a
safe environment and then obtain help and support. See
http://www.alcoholsupport.co.uk/services/designated_place.htm
for details.

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