THE UK Government has set a date for the Glasgow drugs death summit.

Last year when record death figures were revealed, the Glasgow Times called for the event to take place with the UK and Scottish Governments and council to get together to devise solutions to reduce the deaths.

The event will now take place in the city on February 27.

In 2018 the death toll reached 280 in Glasgow and 1187 across Scotland the highest ever.

Figures for 2019 are expected to rise again topping 300 in Glasgow.

Minister for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service, Kit Malthouse, who will chair the event, said: “People are dying from drugs every day across the UK, and this summit will bring us together to tackle the issue of drug misuse.

“We must have firm enforcement action and do all we can on prevention, recovery and treatment too.

“I look forward to meeting key individuals from across the UK and listening to their views on addressing this challenge.”

After our call the Scottish Government agreed to attend and initially the UK government said it would not be able to take part.

However, Mr Malthouse announced before the General Election that it would host a summit in Glasgow.

The UK Government said the summit will bring together drug recovery experts, health professionals, government ministers and senior police officers from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They will discuss how to work together to best prevent deaths related to drug misuse.