Substance misuse professionals have criticised the closure of a Scottish executive body designed to improve services in the field.

The Effective Intervention Unit ceased operating last week after ministers decided to use the resources spent on it to develop more "targeted, focused" local projects.

One drug and alcohol action team chair, who preferred not to be named, said the unit produced "very effective" work.

"It was always going to have a limited lifespan but there was some surprise that something that has always produced such high-quality work was being disbanded," he added.

An executive spokesperson suggested resources would be shifted towards inspection and assessment, saying the executive was developing an audit tool with the Care Commission to enable civil servants to assess the quality of substance misuse services.