Elaine Thomson

Answer · Cathy Jamieson · 25 Feb 2003

In developing the proposed qualification framework, the Scottish Social Services Council has taken account of the diverse nature of social services in Scotland. Extensive consultation has been undertaken with a wide range of bodies to ensure that the framework reflects the requirements of the different users and providers of social services. Account has been taken of the need to increase qualifications across the sector yet retain a balance with the need to be inclusive and recognise the full range of skills and attributes necessary to deliver quality social services for the people of Scotland.

Answer · Mary Mulligan · 28 Nov 2002

Whilst acknowledging that there are problems of access to NHS dentistry in some parts of Scotland, the Executive has in place a number of measures aimed at increasing the numbers of dentists providing NHS treatment. These include:<UL><LI>the availability of grants under the Scottish Dental Access Initiative to dentists willing to set up or expand NHS practices in areas of poor access or high oral health need. </LI><LI>a &quot;golden hello&quot; package of financial measures to help recruit and retain dentists within NHS general dental services. </LI><LI>£3 million in the current financial year for dental practice improvements.</LI></UL><P>We are currently working with the dental profession on a further phase of recruitment and retention measures.<P>In addition, where an NHS board or Primary Care NHS Trust considers that the existing general dental service provision is insufficient to meet the demands of the local population, and no independent general dental practitioner is available to fill the gap, approval can be sought from Scottish ministers to appoint a salaried dentist. A number such posts have been approved and established.

Answer · Iain Gray · 14 Nov 2002

The Executive has recently awarded Satrosphere a grant of £200,000 to help secure its long-term position as a centre contributing to the public understanding of science.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm · 14 Nov 2002

Our Delayed Discharge Action Plan, which was launched on 5 March 2002, set out a range of short- and long-term measures for reducing the number of people experiencing a delay in their discharge from hospital. This year, we have backed our action plan with a £20 million additional investment, and are requiring local authority and NHS board partnerships to use that to move 1,000 additional people from hospital to more appropriate forms of care by April 2003. As announced recently, we will increase that level of funding to £30 million for each of the following three years - but only on the condition that local partnerships meet the initial targets we have set for this year.

Answer · Andy Kerr · 4 Oct 2002

We have today published the Executive's 3rd <I>Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report</I>. Over all 69% of services provided by the Executive, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are now available online to some degree. This represents a 2% increase since the last report was published in May this year. This third report now also includes a column indicating the stage of development these services have reached. Copies of the report have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre. It is also available on the 21st Century Government website and the OpenScotland website.<I><P>The following is a corrected answer (published on 23 December 2002); see below.</I><P>We have today published the Executive's 3rd <I>Electronic Service Delivery Progress Report</I>. Over all 80% of services provided by the Executive, its <I>agencies and non-departmental public bodies</I> are now available online to some degree. This represents a significant increase since the last report which was published in May this year and is partly due to the inclusion of a number of services which were logged from the outset as being at second stage or above, and were therefore originally omitted from the count. This third report now also includes a column indicating the stage of development these services have reached. Copies of the report have been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre. It is also available on the 21st Century Government website and the OpenScotland website.

Answer · Iain Gray · 19 Sep 2002

The total number of students in all age bands, including the over 60s, in tertiary education in Scotland, has increased each year since 1994.<P>We are working with Scotland's older people to ensure they have the information they need to access learning opportunities, through various publications such as the <I>Pensioners' Guide</I>, the newsletter <I>AGEnda</I> for the over 50s, and a new website. This is in addition to information available through learndirect scotland.

Answer · Frank McAveety · 20 Aug 2002

The Learning Disabilities Change Fund is being used to provide or improve a variety of services. These include remodelling day activities, including employment and life-long learning; developing short break services; the appointment and training of local area co-ordinators; improving advocacy, and developing services for individuals with multiple disabilities.

Answer · Frank McAveety · 20 Aug 2002

The information on local authority funding is provided in the annual <I>CIPFA Rating Review Actual of Income &amp; Expenditure</I>. The Bib. numbers are as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7 WIDTH=141><TR><TD WIDTH="60%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>1996-97</TD><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>7544</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="60%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>1997-98</TD><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>7545</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="60%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>1998-99</TD><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>7548</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="60%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>1999-2000</TD><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>14654</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="60%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>2000-01</TD><TD WIDTH="40%" VALIGN="TOP"><P>19781</TD></TR></TABLE><P>For 2001-02 the information is in section 4 of the <I>CIPFA Rating Review Estimates of Income &amp; Expenditure 2001-02</I> (Bib. number 17055) copies of which are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre.<P>NHS expenditure for patients with a learning disability has been taken from the Performance Monitoring Template. Expenditure (£ million) for this period is as follows;<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=134><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1996-97 </TD><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>116.3</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1997-98</TD><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>117</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1998-99 </TD><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>111.1</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1999-2000</TD><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>115.3</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="58%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>2000-01 </TD><TD WIDTH="42%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>116</TD></TR></TABLE><P>This expenditure includes in-patient care, new out-patient attendance, attendance by learning disability patients at day hospitals and community mental/handicap team contacts/visits.