Parliamentary questions
Mr Lloyd Quinan
401 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will offer assistance to the parents and carers of those diagnosed with autism or Asperger's syndrome towards the costs of training packages offered by the Scottish Society for Autism.
Answer · Frank McAveety: In recognition of the importance of supporting carers we have made £10 million a year available to local authorities under the <I>Strategy for Carers in Scotland</I>. This is double the resources previously available. These resources are being used to support…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has funded in each of the last five years into depression and whether it will place a copy of any such research in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The following list indicates the number of research projects on depression which the Chief Scientist Office commenced funding during each of the last five financial years. The projects vary in length from five months to three years and three are on-going.<TAB…
24 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adolescents and (b) adults diagnosed with autism or Asperger's syndrome have also been diagnosed with depression in each of the last five years.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The information requested is not held centrally.
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to fund independent advice and advisory services for parents and carers of those diagnosed with (a) autism and (b) Asperger's Syndrome.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive recognises the importance of advocacy in enabling people to access information they need and to make informed choices about their care.<P>We announced in February further support for developing independent advocacy by establishing the A…
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the National Initiative for Autism Screening and Assessment model will be implemented nationally.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive will give careful consideration to the findings of the National Initiative for Autism Screening and Assessment when they are published later this year.
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 1999 to date in funding and encouraging improvements in the diagnosis and assessment of autistic spectrum disorders.
Answer · Frank McAveety: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26034.
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in the implementation of the recommendations of the Public Health Institute of Scotland's report on autistic spectrum disorders, Needs Assessment Report.
Answer · Frank McAveety: We are in the early stages of considering implementation of the report.
23 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support the retention of ring-fenced special educational needs budgets to allow funding to be directed at the appropriate provision for children with autism.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Provision for the education of children with special educational needs, including autism, is currently supported by the Scottish Executive through grant aided expenditure to local authorities. In addition, specific grant allocations are made and I refer the m…
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive when a report will be made available to the Parliament on the mapping exercise carried out by the Scottish Society for Autism.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The Scottish Executive has no plans to issue a report on the mapping exercise carried out by the Scottish Society for Autism. Information from the exercise will be distributed widely as part of the national service network recommended by <I>The same as you?</…
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to implement a national training strategy for all professionals and carers working with those diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder.
Answer · Frank McAveety: NHS Education for Scotland will bring a strategic, multi-disciplinary approach to education and training for staff in NHSScotland. Similar work will be carried out by the Scottish Social Services Council in relation to social work. I also refer the member to …
22 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to implement guidelines on autistic spectrum disorders by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and, if so, when these guidelines will be made available.
Answer · Frank McAveety: Work on this will be taken forward in the context of the Public Health Institute for Scotland's <I>Autistic Spectrum Disorders Needs Assessment Report</I>.
17 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will implement a national training strategy for teachers, classroom assistants and specialist professionals in the awareness and understanding of autism.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has commissioned a Review of Initial Teacher Education and this will report later in the year. The review includes consideration of training matters relating to special educational needs, incorporating autistic spectrum disorder.<P>In a…
17 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recruit, train and retain professionals such as speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and occupational therapists in autistic spectrum disorders.
Answer · Frank McAveety: It is the responsibility of each trust, as the employer, to recruit appropriately and to ensure that individuals have the training required to provide effective patient care.<P>Core clinical training for professionals such as speech and language therapists, o…
17 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what systems are currently in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of a school's work with pupils on the autistic spectrum and whether it will place a copy of any monitoring and evaluation information in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of a school's work with children with special educational needs, including autistic spectrum disorder, as part of the cycle of school inspections.<P>Inspection reports are publishe…
17 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to undertake or commission research into establishing minimum standards for the education of children with autistic spectrum disorders.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to commission research on minimum standards for education of children with autistic spectrum disorders.
17 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to fund and encourage improvements in the diagnosis and assessment of autistic spectrum disorders, in particular focusing on a multi-agency assessment which addresses the holistic needs of every child and adult.
Answer · Frank McAveety: The importance of multi-agency assessment for pupils with special educational needs is encouraged and promoted in Circular ED 4/96 <I>Children and Young Persons with Special Educational Needs - Assessment and Recording</I> and in the <I>Manual of Good Practic…
1 May 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the Report of the MMR Expert Group, whether any official guidance will be issued on the administering of single vaccines and on the length of time that should elapse between each vaccine, particularly in the case of measles, mumps and rubella vaccines.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: As stated in the answer given to question S1W-25472 on 30 April 2002, the Executive is grateful to the MMR Expert Group for producing an excellent report, which describes the consequences of pursuing an alternative vaccination policy to MMR. It is clear that …
25 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it holds any information on research carried out into autistic spectrum disorders that has not been supported by government funding.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive does not hold a register of non-government funded research into autistic spectrum disorders.
25 Apr 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a detailed breakdown of all funding allocated in respect of the Beattie Committee report, stating which projects and organisations have benefited since its publication.
Answer · Iain Gray: £22.6 million has been allocated by the Scottish Executive over the period April 2001 to March 2004 to implement the recommendations contained in the Beattie Committee report. The funding has been allocated as follows:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=7…
15 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any specific funding has been allocated for respite care for carers and parents of children and adults with autism or Asperger's syndrome and, if so, to which organisations it was allocated and how much was allocated in each year since 1998-99.
Answer · Hugh Henry: Local authorities and NHS boards provide respite services in response to local need. The Executive has been providing substantially increased levels of resources for social care year on year since 1998-99. Under our Carer's Strategy we are making available £1…
15 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it awarded to the Family Fund Trust in each year since 1998-99.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Family Fund Trust has been awarded:<TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=1 CELLPADDING=2 WIDTH=172><TR><TD WIDTH="45%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>1998-99</TD><TD WIDTH="55%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P>£2,02 million</TD></TR><TR><TD WIDTH="45%" VALIGN="TOP" HEIGHT=16><P…
15 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any estimates have been made of the costs to social services of caring for people with autism and Asperger's syndrome over their lifetimes.
Answer · Hugh Henry: No.
15 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any estimates have been made of the costs to education services nationally of autism and Asperger's syndrome over the lifetime of a person with these conditions.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-18479 on 15 October 2001.
15 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any estimates have been made of the cost to the NHS of treating autism and Asperger's syndrome over a patient's lifetime.
Answer · Hugh Henry: No.
11 Mar 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what training is given to members of the Children's Panels in order for them to detect and understand the needs of children (a) with Asperger's syndrome, (b) on the autistic spectrum and (c) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: During pre-service and in-service training, panel members receive general information on child development and special needs. Relevant training materials are prepared in consultation with child psychiatrists and psychologists, who are experts in children's co…
15 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-4666 by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 February 2002, whether it plans to award funding for research into the causes of autism on the same basis that funding have been awarded by Her Majesty's Government.
Answer · Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has no such plans. The £2.5 million additional funding for research into the causes of autism, announced recently by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, was awarded to the Medical Research Council to conduct research into autism t…
14 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has cost Strathclyde Police to police the Faslane Naval Base in each of the past 12 months.
Answer · Jim Wallace: The extra costs to Strathclyde Police associated with policing the last four major demonstrations at Faslane Naval Base (in February, August and October 2001 and in February 2002) were £114,000, £188,000, £139,000 and £169,000 respectively. Strathclyde Police…
14 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been paid to Strathclyde Police by the Ministry of Defence to cover the costs of policing events associated with the Faslane Naval Base in each of the past 12 months.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Nil. Strathclyde Police have dealt with the pressures involved in policing these events from within their own resources.
14 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for operational support at the Faslane Naval Base Strathclyde Police received from the Ministry of Defence in each of the past 12 months, detailing the circumstances on each occasion.
Answer · Jim Wallace: None.
14 Feb 2002 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers from Strathclyde Police additional to those normally deployed have been deployed to police the perimeter of the Faslane Naval Base in each of the past 12 months; who requested their deployment, and for what reasons.
Answer · Jim Wallace: Strathclyde Police officers do not routinely police the perimeter of Faslane Naval Base. This normally falls to the Ministry of Defence Police. Officers from Strathclyde Police are only engaged in such duties when there are large anti-nuclear demonstrations a…