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We have legislated for theinclusion of all children in mainstream schools, subject to certain prescribedcircumstances. The Executive will monitor the impact of the new legislationwhich took effect from 1 August 2003.

No – the recommendations setout in the The same as you? review of services for people with learningdisabilities continue to guide the Executive’s policy that people with learningdisabilities should be cared for at home, with an appropriate range of servicesto meet their health and social care needs.

The number of individualswith learning disabilities in long-stay hospitals has been coming down for sometime, and at October 2002 was around 900. Lennox Castle near Glasgow closed in May 2002, Birkwood Hospital inLanarkshire in September 2002, and the Royal Scottish National Hospital at Larbert closed in early 2003.

Many people with learningdisabilities who formerly lived in a hospital are now living in the community,with packages of care and support tailored to meet their individual needs.

AShort Life Working Group of the national The same as you? Implementation Groupis preparing a report on hospital closures which is due soon. Itsrecommendations will be intended to help ensure the 2005 target is met.

As wenote in our Lifelong Learning Strategy Life through Learning; Learningthrough Life, which was published in February of this year, uneven accessto lifelong learning has the capacity to entrench inequalities. Our goal is tocreate a Scotland where people have the chanceto learn, irrespective of their background or current personal circumstancesand we are clear that the mainstreaming of equality into policy and legislationdevelopment is a key driver in realising this aim.

the Scottish Executive is committed to inclusive policies that allow all studentsto participate fully in further education and achieve their potential.Substantial funds have been allocated towards this and compliance with theSpecial Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. People with a disabilityaffecting learning form one of the priority groups for action on the promotionof adult literacy and numeracy.

£4.5million has been allocated from Beattie funding to improve support for studentsin further education and develop inclusiveness. The BRITE Centre initiative at Stevenson College has been established to equipstaff with the skills to assess and support students with additional needs.Over 80 staff from every college are participating in the initiative.

Officials at the Scottish Executive have just instituted a new statistical return to measure progressagainst various recommendations set out in The same as you? A review ofservices for people with learning disabilities. This asks about the numberof people with learning disabilities by local authority area; how many have theirown tenancies, and how many have access to Local Area Co-ordinators,independent advocacy, Personal Life Plans, employment opportunities, furthereducation, employment training, community short breaks, and alternatives totraditional day services.

This will provideinformation on these areas for the first time in Scotland.

We expect local authoritiesto secure a range of services appropriate to an individual’s needs across therange of community care client groups, including learning disabilities

The Scottish Consortium forLearning Disability was established during 2001 with funding from the ScottishExecutive, and officially launched by Malcolm Chisholm, then Deputy Ministerfor Health and Community Care, on 5 October 2001.

We are keen to ensuredissemination of best practice. The principles of The same as you? A reviewof services for people with learning disabilities, published by the Scottish Executive, give a lead on good practice, and thatdocument has a number of examples of good practice.

We have provided funding forthe establishment of the Scottish Consortium forLearning Disability. Part of the consortium’s remitis to:

·       foster and develop best practice, and make it accessible. This isavailable from the consortium’s homepage (Good Practice in The same as you?) on its website at www.scld.org.uk Thisbrings together information on best practicefrom across Scotland for everyone, including local authorities.

·       develop a skilled and confidentworkforce by improving training standards and providing training. Localauthority staff attend such training. Allthe consortium’s courses have peoplewith learning disabilities and family carers as co-trainers.

We have establishedthe Partnership in Practice Network,comprising representativesfrom local authorities and the NHS across Scotland. This meets on aregular three-monthly basis to discuss current issues and to share experience,and it provides a forum for exchanging and developing good practice.

We haveestablished the Scottish Social Services Council, whose function includes toraise the standard of practice and to promote the education and training of thesocial care workforce, including those working in local authorities.

We ran three majorconferences on learning disabilities in 2002, looking at best practice andexperience in learning disability databases, autistic spectrum disorders andhospital closures. These had significant attendance form local authorities acrossScotland.

Employment has been one of the initial priorities for the national The same as you? Implementation Group.It established a sub-group to look at employment, and its report is expected indue course .