Researchers have raised concerns the effects of policies designed to reduce inequalities in Scotland are not being reviewed thoroughly enough to determine whether they are achieving their aims.

A study by the Scottish Health Equity Research Unit (SHERU), released on Wednesday, shows life expectancy is currently on a downward trajectory in Scotland while drug-related deaths remain the highest in Europe.

According to the research these outcomes are underpinned by “stark disparities” in living standards and bellwether indicators such as educational attainment between the richest and poorest in society.

In a new report, SHERU highlights a “critical gap” in the kind of evidence needed to determine whether policy efforts to tackle these inequalities have had an impact.

Its authors say despite the Scottish Government’s clear understanding of the issues and an array of strategies they have yet to see a significant move towards rigorous evaluation of their effectiveness.

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They argue “significant gaps” in data sources to assess the impacts of key policy changes mean decisions are being made on “outdated or poor quality information”.

The authors also say their findings raise “serious questions” over the quality of decisions that are being made to respond to budget pressures now and in the coming months.

The research was a joint collaboration between the University of Strathclyde’s Centre for Health Policy and Fraser of Allander Institute.

Emma Congreve, deputy director of the Fraser of Allander Institute and co-lead of SHERU, said: “If the Government doesn’t have a clear understanding of which policies are effective, it cannot make informed decisions about which ones to keep and which ones to cut.

“We’ve already witnessed emergency spending controls being imposed based solely on expediency, rather than evidence. We are deeply concerned that future decisions will be made without considering the impact on people’s lives and prioritising spend accordingly.”

Professor Kat Smith, co-director of the Centre for Health Policy and co-lead of SHERU, said: “Without a better grasp of how existing socioeconomic policies are performing, the Government will continue to struggle with achieving meaningful improvements to help tackle the poor health affecting large segments of our society.

“In recent years, the Scottish Government has made strides in recognising the importance of gathering insights from service users and their experiences. However, evidence-based decision-making requires ensuring outcomes can be to tracked in the data, as well as engaging with community members.”

Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: “We are using all the powers and resources available to us to tackle health inequalities and are taking a wider approach to tackling inequalities, poverty, and the cost of living crisis which can lead to health inequalities, investing £3 billion a year on such measures.

“Through our National Mission on drugs we have put in place a range of measures to improve services, reduce harm and take a whole-systems approach to the complex and compounding challenges people who use drugs can face, including opening the UK’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility in October, widening access to life-saving naloxone and improving services through the implementation of our Medication Assisted Treatment Standards.”