- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to waive prescription charges for people with chronic disabling illnesses such as Parkinson's disease.
Answer
We have no plans to do so.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25671 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, what the criteria were for accessing the Special Educational Needs Innovation Grants Programme funding and in what ways Independent Special Education Advice failed to meet those criteria.
Answer
The following criteria and priorities were set out in the grant application pack:
- promoting inclusive policies in mainstream and special schools
- approaches to improving links, and sharing skills/expertise between special and mainstream schools
- empowering parents to enable them to participate fully in their children's education
- improving children's participation in decisions which affect them
- promoting integrated and co-ordinated approaches to service delivery (e.g. key worker role)
- offering new approaches to advice and resolution of disagreements between professionals and families
We are writing to those unsuccessful applicants who have requested feedback on their bids. This includes Independent Special Education Advice and a letter outlining the reasons for refusing funding was issued to them on Thursday 30 May.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Iain Gray on 29 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to establish in full a scheme in Scotland similar to the Phoenix Fund which operates in England to encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas.
Answer
We have no plans to do so. The Enterprise Networks already target entrepreneurship in disadvantaged areas through a range of measures - including the holding of Personal Enterprise Shows in such areas. We have also introduced recently a specific Scottish Enterprise Network annual target for the number of business start-up assists from residents in disadvantaged areas.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has estimated the costs to it and local government of adjournments of a criminal trial on the date of the trial, including the costs associated with the abstraction from their duties of social workers, fire officers, NHS employees, police officers and civilians.
Answer
We have not attempted to quantify the costs in this manner, as appropriate data is not centrally available. However, we are aware of the disruption and inconvenience caused by adjournments to criminal trials and are keen to see them reduced. We did in fact commission research into the causes of adjournments in sheriff court summary criminal cases in 1999 and the research report was published on 19 July 2001. A summary of the main findings of the research can be found on the Scottish Executive website and the full report on the Scottish Executive Central Research Unit website.The reviews being carried out by Lord Bonomy and Sheriff Principal McInnes, of the High Court and summary justice respectively, are focusing on how the criminal justice process might be made more efficient and effective. Both reviews will be making recommendations to reduce the frequency of unnecessary adjournments.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Colin Boyd on 29 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22603 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 February 2002, how many adjournments of a criminal trial on the date of trial were granted on the motion of the procurator fiscal or advocate depute in each of the last four years.
Answer
This information is not available.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 14 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-5174 by Cathy Jamieson on 9 May 2002, whether it will give a breakdown of each targeted resource for children and young people with special educational needs by local authority area in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04.
Answer
The breakdown of the proposed National Priorities Action Fund Inclusion Programme and special educational needs (SEN) Specific Grant for in-service training by local authority area, in both 2002-03 and 2003-04, is provided in the following table:
| Inclusion Funding | In-Service Training Funding |
| Education Authority | Each year in2002-03 and 2003-04 | Each year in 2002-3 and 2003-04 |
| Scotland | £20,000,000 | £6,743,551 |
| Aberdeen City | £789,565 | £243,860.00 |
| Aberdeenshire | £940,276 | £314,316.00 |
| Angus | £423,887 | £133,425.00 |
| Argyll and Bute | £325,925 | £120,118.00 |
| Clackmannanshire | £195,108 | £87,574.00 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £553,058 | £204,150 |
| Dundee City | £558,378 | £175,170 |
| East Ayrshire | £481,870 | £171,107 |
| East Dunbartonshire | £423,835 | £150,958 |
| East Lothian | £347,795 | £94,421 |
| East Renfrewshire | £355,731 | £119,384 |
| Edinburgh, City of | £1,556,880 | £421,294 |
| Eilean Siar | £108,255 | £79,029 |
| Falkirk | £554,271 | £239,294.00 |
| Fife | £1,395,147 | £460,982.00 |
| Glasgow City | £2,376,008 | £810,632.00 |
| Highland | £830,808 | £263,421.00 |
| Inverclyde | £345,629 | £123,676.00 |
| Midlothian | £320,536 | £93,362.00 |
| Moray | £349,302 | £113,528.00 |
| North Ayrshire | £572,830 | £196,810.00 |
| North Lanarkshire | £1,351,617 | £466,277.00 |
| Orkney Islands | £79,021 | £85,618.00 |
| Perth and Kinross | £507,760 | £152,392.00 |
| Renfrewshire | £706,957 | £240,084.00 |
| Scottish Borders | £390,199 | £98,780.00 |
| Shetland Islands | £99,365 | £65,900.00 |
| South Ayrshire | £430,454 | £144,918.00 |
| South Lanarkshire | £1,246,360 | £420,269.00 |
| Stirling | £336,306 | £134,115.00 |
| West Dunbartonshire | £402,433 | £137,510.00 |
| West Lothian | £644,434 | £181,177.00 |
| Total | £20,000,000 | £6,743,551 |
Note:In addition to the in-service training funding above for teachers and other staff, a further £1,079,450 has been allocated for training for educational psychologists each year. This funding is allocated to local authorities on the basis of trainee placements sponsored.SEN Innovation Grant Programme funding cannot be broken down by local authority area because grants are awarded to voluntary and non-statutory organisations to carry out projects in the field of special educational needs. Some of these projects will be carried out across Scotland on a national basis, whilst others will be carried out in local areas.Funding is allocated directly to the seven grant-aided special schools, and not direct to local authorities, and these schools are open to pupils from across Scotland. £8.8 million has been allocated to these grant-aided special schools for 2002-03.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering providing additional funding for local authorities to establish, and assist in the operation of, local land fora.
Answer
The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill places a number of new duties on local authorities in respect of access, including the establishment of local access forums. The financial implications of these new duties are being considered as part of the current spending review.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what role it forsees for local land fora if the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is enacted.
Answer
Section 24 (1) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill requires each local authority to establish at least one local access forum in its area. Section 24 (2) sets down the functions of these forums as being "to advise the local authority and any other person or body consulting the forum on matters having to do with the exercise of access rights or the drawing up and adoption of a plan for a system of core paths". It is also intended that forums may assist in the resolution of disputes about the exercise of access rights, the drawing up and adoption of core path plans or the use of core paths.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Cathy Jamieson on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to (a) introducing "rucksack" funding packages for children with special educational needs, which follow the child throughout his or her education, and (b) funding such packages centrally.
Answer
We have no plans to introduce such arrangements. The majority of funding for special educational needs provision is provided to local authorities through grant-aided expenditure and is so allocated to allow authorities to deliver effective provision, which takes account of local needs and circumstances and economies of scale. Within the funding available to them local authorities can implement integrated packages of education and care, including joint funding arrangements agreed with other agencies, for individual children with special educational needs.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 May 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 27 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what information is accessible to the public in respect of the #122,132,000 held by local authorities in Common Good Funds at 31 March 2000.
Answer
Information about the amount of monies held in Common Good Funds in Scotland is not held centrally. Any member of the public may, at certain advertised times, inspect a local authorities accounts and relating documentation including the Common Good Funds, under section 101 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
