Concerns over the easy availability of alcohol in West Lothian have been raised, despite a drop in the number of alcohol related deaths.
The number of alcohol related deaths in West Lothian fell last year, in line with the drop across Scotland.
But while the national figures were down 7% on 2023 the drop in West Lothian was slight at just over 4%.
And Labour’s Tom Conn suggested that the easy availability of alcohol lay behind the stubborn figures.
A total of 41 deaths were recorded as alcohol related in 2024 compared with 43 the year before, Bhav Joshi, the general manager of the local Drug and Alcohol Service told the Integration Joint Board.
He called the figures a “stabilisation”.
Alison White the chief officer of the Health and Social Care Partnership told the meeting: “While we have seen a slight improvement, any deaths from alcohol are unacceptable to the service and the Health and Social Care Partnership would offer its condolences to anyone who has been affected by these deaths.”
Councillor Conn told the meeting: “We don’t seem to have a framework that reduces the availability of alcohol.”
Referencing a recent case reported by the LDRS where Tesco was granted a provisional licence for a new superstore in Whitburn, despite health board objections, Councillor Conn added: “It is this contradiction from us as a society that more people die, and families suffer from alcohol but we don’t make an issue about the availability of it.”
Fellow Labour Councillor Tony Boyle, who chairs West Lothian Licensing Board defended the recent decision, pointing out that had the board rejected the Tesco licence lawyers for the retailer would simply had gone to a Sheriff and had the decision overturned.
Changes needed to be made at a national level around the supply and availability of alcohol, he suggested. The growth of delivery services also countermanded any meaningful attempt to control the number of outlets.
Alcohol deaths in Scotland fell last year to the lowest number since 2019, the latest official figures have shown.
The statistics from National Records of Scotland (NRS) revealed that 1,185 people died from alcohol-specific causes in 2024, a 7% decrease from 2023’s 15-year record high.
Male deaths continued to account for about two thirds of the fatalities, but both male and female alcohol deaths decreased in the past year.
Maree Todd, drugs and alcohol policy minister, said that while Scotland was making progress on tackling harms caused by alcohol, the government “cannot become complacent”.
West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service WLDAS also presented figures for drug deaths, reported last month by the LDRS.
The report to the IJB said: “In 2024, West Lothian recorded 22 drug-related deaths—the lowest since 2017—reflecting a national 13% decline, though rates remain high and efforts continue to address underlying causes.”
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter
