Parliamentary questions

Mr Lloyd Quinan

401 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.

26 Feb 2003 · General Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to establish a national service for people diagnosed on the autistic spectrum.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive has no plans to establish a national service for people diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder. The provision of services to meet the health and social care needs of people diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders is a matter for l…

20 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS board areas offer first aid as part of the antenatal programme.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The content of antenatal programmes in Scotland varies across NHS boards and the Executive does not hold information on whether first aid is a part of these. The Health Education Board for Scotland is undertaking a mapping exercise of current antenatal activi…

20 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths of children under five have been recorded in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Answer · Hugh Henry: The information requested is given in the following table.Deaths Under Five Years of Age, by NHS Board Area, 1998-2001<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=363><TR><TD WIDTH="41%" VALIGN="TOP">NHS Board Area</TD><TD WIDTH="11%" VALIGN="TOP"><P…

19 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost will be of the consultation seminars on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of the consultation seminars on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill will be, approximately, £15,500.

19 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what the total cost was of producing and distributing the consultation document for the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The total cost of printing the consultation document on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill and distributing it with the accompanying framework document, Moving Forward! Additional Support for Learning, was £24,379.

17 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many submissions to the consultation on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill recommended that the Record of Needs be (a) replaced and (b) reformed.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-34097 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…

17 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how long participants had to provide submissions to the consultation on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

17 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many submissions to the consultation on the draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill were received and from whom they were received.

17 Feb 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive who was consulted on its draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The draft Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill was published for consultation on 17 January 2003. The consultation runs until 28 March 2003 and responses can be sent in writing or by e-mail. Over 7,000 copies of the draft bill have been…

22 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33061 by Mr Frank McAveety on 21 January 2003, whether there will be any financial implications of the revised proposal for a national service network for people with autistic spectrum disorders.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The financial implications of the revised proposal for a national service network for people with autistic spectrum disorders have still to be clarified by the Scottish Society for Autism and the National Autistic Society.

16 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32411 by Mr Frank McAveety on 15 January 2003, what data it is collecting on all young people with disabilities to identify need; who has been given the responsibility of collecting it, and when it expects to report on the information collected.

Answer · Frank McAveety: This is still under consideration by the Executive.

16 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32391 by Mr Frank McAveety on 15 January 2003, how it defines "relatively uncommon conditions".

Answer · Frank McAveety: National information from general practice is currently estimated from a sample of GP practices covering around 8% of the Scottish population only (the CMR - Continuous Morbidity Recording - practices). GPs participating in CMR reported that less than 0.02% o…

16 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32391 by Mr Frank McAveety on 15 January 2003, what formula it used to determine from sample information nationally that greater numbers of people are being recognised as having autistic spectrum disorder.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Information about greater numbers of people recognised as having autistic spectrum disorder was not derived from sample information nationally. The Public Health Institute of Scotland's Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report reported that …

16 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32391 by Mr Frank McAveety on 15 January 2003, when comprehensive information on the number of people now recognised as having an autistic spectrum disorder will be available centrally.

Answer · Frank McAveety: There are no specific plans to collect this information centrally at present. A project to evaluate the effectiveness of the National Special Needs System (SNS) and to discover how effectively the needs of relevant children (aged zero to 19) and their familie…

14 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to withdraw infant vaccines that contain mercury in the light of the recent report by the UK medicines information service and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Committee on Safety of Medicines has advised that, with the exception of hypersensitivity reactions that typically include skin rashes or local swelling at the site of injection, there is no evidence of harm from the levels of thiomersal (which contains e…

10 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the establishment of a Scottish Centre for Learning Disabilities, as recommended in The same as you? A review of services for people with learning difficulties.

Answer · Frank McAveety: On 21 March 2001, the Scottish Executive announced the award of £1.5 million to set up a Centre for Learning Disability in Scotland. The Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability was formally launched on 5 October 2001.

10 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made with the establishment of a national service network for people suffering from an autistic spectrum disorder, as recommended in The same as you? A review of services for people with learning difficulties.

Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive is considering a revised proposal for a national service network for people with autistic spectrum disorders, which has been submitted by the National Autistic Society and the Scottish Society for Autism.

10 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-14176 by Malcolm Chisholm on 28 March 2001, how much of the additional #36 million to improve services for people with learning disabilities was allocated to specific services for families affected by autistic spectrum disorders.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Information about the use of change funds for 2001-02 is available on the learning disability review website at <A HREF="http://www.scotland.gsi.gov.uk/ldsr">www.scotland.gov.uk/ldsr</A>. Local authorities were not asked to specify how much of the change fund…

9 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria Scottish Enterprise uses to assess the success or otherwise of projects funded under the New Futures Fund.

Answer · Iain Gray: Projects will be evaluated against the aims and objectives set out in their proposals. In addition, mainstreaming is a key issue in phase 2 together with equality of access by women, minority ethnic communities and people with dual diagnosis e.g. mental illne…

9 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking under phase 2 of the New Futures Fund to ensure the effective transition to mainstream or any other source of funding for projects at the conclusion of their funding period.

Answer · Iain Gray: Delivery of the New Futures Fund is the responsibility of the Enterprise Networks who are currently assessing the options.

9 Jan 2003 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what opportunities there are for the continued funding of projects that have been assessed as successful at the conclusion of their funding periods under the New Futures Fund.

Answer · Iain Gray: Delivery of the New Futures Fund is the responsibility of the Enterprise Networks who are currently assessing the options.

12 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether GPs are required to register when they undertake secondary jobs either in private consultancy or with the Department for Work and Pensions and, if so, how many GPs are currently so registered.

Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Terms of Service for GPs are set out in the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995. They do not require GPs to register secondary jobs.

10 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-31897 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2002, how many parents were nominated for membership of the Special Educational Needs Advisory Forum.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is not known how many of the original 68 nominations for membership of the forum have children. The current membership of the forum includes many parents, some of whom have children with special educational needs. The main purpose of the forum is to offer …

10 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider removing some of the eligibility criteria for the water charges exemption scheme administered by Scottish Water in order to ensure maximum eligibility of charities.

Answer · Ross Finnie: The water charges exemption scheme was set up to assist charities and voluntary organisations affected by withdrawal of relief on water and sewerage charges. The scheme's eligibility criteria are intended to target assistance on those bodies with relatively l…

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what financial assistance or support is available to parents of young disabled people that wish to modify their family home to facilitate the transition process to adulthood.

Answer · Margaret Curran: I have asked Mr Bob Millar, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Financial assistance is available towards the costs of adaptations to the home of a permanent nature (e.g. special bathing arrangements) and for the …

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure the smooth transition of young people with a disability to adult social work and health services.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Aspects of transition should be addressed within current arrangements for Future Needs Assessment for Children with Records of Need so that provision for social and health care or therapies is agreed with adult services when necessary. The Scottish Executive …

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to carry out more research on the numbers, circumstances and experiences of young people with disabilities leaving care homes and on the transition experiences of those leaving residential schools.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Work is going on across the Scottish Executive to gather information on children and young people with disabilities in order to establish areas of need, and consider how these can be addressed. This will include young people with disabilities who have been lo…

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with an open Record of Needs have had a future needs assessment in each of the last three years.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally. However, current legislation provides for pupils with Records of Needs to have a future needs assessment between the ages of 14 and 15 years and three months. According to the 2001 School Census a total of 16,1…

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that all young people from the age of 14 have the option of a personal life plan.

Answer · Frank McAveety: Personal life plans were proposed as a new form of assessment in The same as you? review of services for people with learning disabilities. The review recommended that everyone with a learning disability who wants to, should be able to have a personal …

6 Dec 2002 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Executive whether all children likely to have significant difficulties in post-school transition will have the opportunity to undergo multi-agency future needs assessments.

Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-32405 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at <A HREF="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/searc…