Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-25806 on 23 May 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

There are no plans to introducea convention of this sort.

The Scottish Executive EducationDepartment provided funding of £3 million per year for the last two years to NHSboards to meet their obligations under the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004. These resources are being used in a variety of ways, includingthe recruitment of speech and language therapists and other professionals to workwith autistic children in schools.

The Executive already hassome, limited, powers to support individual post office businesses. Anamendment to the Scotland Act makes an exception to the reserved status ofpostal services for “financial assistance for the provision of services (otherthan postal services and services relating to money or postal orders) to beprovided from public post offices.” Communities Scotland has used thisprovision to enhance Government assistance to post offices through a £2 millioncapital grants scheme and recently-announced business improvement trainingopportunities for post offices in deprived areas. Any extension of thesepowers, through primary legislation or an order under the Scotland Act, wouldrequire the approval of both the Scottish and the UK Parliament.

 

Health Boards	Total Funding
	1999-2000 (£)	2000-01 (£)	2001-02 (£)	2002-03 (£)	2003-04 (£)	2004-05 (£)	2005-06 (£)
Argyll and Clyde	1,543	3,348	3,515	3,620	3,761	4,183	4,434
Ayrshire and Arran	943	3,104	3,255	3,353	3,483	3,874	4,106
Borders	30,515	24,870	40,561	41,778	43,400	52,814	55,983
Dumfries and Galloway	1,886	800	1,111	1,144	1,189	1,322	1,402
Fife	75,601	57,000	59,850	61,646	64,040	96,225	101,999
Forth Valley	37,801	47,293	50,407	51,919	53,935	62,118	65,845
Grampian	943	58,164	88,000	90,640	*	*	*
Greater Glasgow	2,914	8,000	10,160	10,465	10,871	12,091	12,816
Highland	1,371	5,872	6,166	6,351	6,598	7,338	7,779
Lanarkshire	9,429	10,126	10,632	10,951	11,376	14,783	15,670
Lothian	182,918	172,420	266,744	274,746	285,416	317,440	336,486
Orkney	771	779	877	1,143	1,062	1,334	1,414
Shetland	4,029	225	237	244	254	2,413	2,558
Tayside	54,515	62,000	65,100	67,053	69,657	91,274	96,740
Western Isles	86	459	482	496	516	574	608
Cumbria**	171	173	195	254	236	263	278
Northumberland**	600	606	682	889	826	1,038	1,100
Northern Ireland**	771	779	877	1,143	1,062	1,334	1,414
Totals	406,807	456,018	608,851	627,835	557,682	670,418	710,632

Notes:

*Local provision since 2003-04.

**Because of limited facilitiesin Cumbria, Northumberland and Northern Ireland for people with sleep disorders, patients who requirea “second opinion” (or the provision of a CPAP machine) in the view of the consultant,or need to be assessed by undergoing a sleep study which involves overnight staysare referred to the Edinburgh Sleep Centre at the RIE.

This information is not heldcentrally.

The Executive and MedicalResearch Council (MRC) have been taking forward a jointly funded researchprogramme based on the agenda outlined in the MRC Review of Autism Research.The MRC has now committed over £3 million to new research. The awards rangefrom clinical investigations in children and adults, to environmental riskfactors, brain imaging and intervention studies.

The Scottish Executive ASDReference Group is represented on the UK Wide Autism Research Co-ordinationGroup (ARCG), which has been established by the Department of Education andSkills to provide a framework to enable greater co-ordination of autismresearch activity in the UK. ARCG has a number of aims including focusing inautism research funding on identified gaps such as biomedical research andresearch on interventions.

In addition, the ScottishInter-collegiate Guidance Network (SIGN) Council are developing a guideline forprofessionals working with children and young people up to age 18 on evidencebased approaches to diagnosis, assessment and early clinical interventions forautism. The SIGN Guideline development will cover surveillance and shouldconsider the evidence base for routine screening.

The information requested isnot held centrally.

The information requested isnot available centrally.

The Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places new duties on educationauthorities and appropriate agencies, including Careers Scotland, furthereducation colleges and higher education institutions, to ensure early planning,preparation and the effective exchange of information to support children andyoung people with additional support needs to make a smooth and successfultransition to post-school life – whether that is to education, training orwork.

As autonomous bodies, Scotland’scolleges and universities are responsible for ensuring their provision isaccessible and inclusive to students with disabilities and other additionalsupport needs. Both sectors have been successful in achieving this, asevidenced by the year on year increase in participation by students withdisabilities.

Colleges and universitiescan draw on various support to help them improve their provision. Guidance toPE Colleges on the subject was published in January 2005 when PartnershipMatter’s set out the roles and responsibilities of the various bodies involvedin providing support to students, and other tools from the Scottish Further andHigher Education Funding Council.