Chamber and committees

Preparatory workis underway and as soon as I am in a position to do so I will make a fullstatement to Parliament.

The Scottish Executiveremains committed to funding the Scottish Schools Digital Network, now known asGlow.

The Glow (formerlyScottish Schools Digital Network) programme will start offering live services toschools in the first term of the 2007-08 school year. Technical development is largelycomplete. During the first half of 2007 a series of pilots have been run, involvingup to 36 schools from 13 local authorities. The project team has been working withlocal authorities and other user organisations to help them plan for the introductionof Glow. Most local authorities now have well-developed implementation plans, andeleven have progressed to the point of signing the Customer Agreement which willallow them to take the services.

We are currently awaitingadvice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the introductionof a catch up campaign against the HPV.

Further advice isexpected in October.

The upper age limitfor the HPV vaccination is currently being considered by the Joint Committee onVaccination and Immunisation.

The Scottish Governmentare committed to providing the HPV vaccine to girls aged 12 to 13, in line withadvice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, and are workingwith the NHS on the practical and logistical issues around a nationwide vaccinationprogramme. We aim to implement the programme by autumn 2008.

Responsibility forco-ordinating the implementation of routine childhood and adult vaccination programmesrests with NHS Health Protection Scotland (HPS). The Scottish Government continuesto set policy and agree strategy.

A steering group hasbeen set up by HPS, with representation from the Scottish Government, NHS HealthScotland (NHS/HS), NHS boards and National Services Scotland to identify and progressthe work required to roll out the incorporation of an HPV vaccine into the routinechildhood immunisation programme.

We are aware thatsurvival rates in Denmark are considerably better than those in Scotland. Survival rates in Scotland are increasing however, andthe initiatives set out in the answer to question S3W-1096 on 25 June 2007 are expectedto lead to further improvements.All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-1097 on 22 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

It has been with theneeds of those with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) very much in mind thatthe Scottish Government has been encouraging the development of the Scottish MuscleNetwork (a national MCN) based at Yorkhill. The network aims to improve the careprovided to all Scottish neuromuscular patients, regardless of where they live,by ensuring they have access to local health, social and educational professionalswho are informed about the condition and its complications. It is currently developingclinical standards of care for those with DMD.

In line with a recommendation in the GeneticsReview, a consultant clinical geneticist and a physiotherapist are being appointedas part of the Scottish Muscle Network. The clinical geneticist will be responsiblefor the establishment of a Scotland-wide DMD register which will amongst other things,provide a better understanding of the determinants and occurrence of disease.

The Scottish MolecularGenetics Consortium (SMGC) offers molecular genetic tests to detect a range of singlegene disorders, including DMD, in symptomatic patients, for pre-symptomatic (i.e.people who may have inherited the defect but not yet developed signs), potentialcarriers of the gene who would be at risk of having affected children, and for prenataldiagnosis for families who request this service.

Early orthopaedicintervention is crucial in improving survival and quality of life, and the paediatricscoliosis service in Scotland has been designated as a national servicesince April 2005. Designation has brought with it increased funding of £2.2 milliona year to increase the capacity of the service and reduce waiting times.

Access to specialistcardiological care also has a significant influence on survival, given the effectof cardiomyopathy on deaths, and proposals are being developed to promote closerworking between cardiologists and clinical geneticists.

A number of otherspecialist children’s services, which provide further clinical input, are currentlyunder review for example complex respiratory and neurology. The outcomes from thesereviews will form the basis of the National Delivery Plan for Specialist Children’sServices in Scotland. This will be presented to the Cabinet Secretaryfor consideration later in 2007.

A comprehensive review of the NHS Wheelchairand Seating Service has been carried out. The review recognised particular issuesaffecting such individuals, for example the lack of regular planned assessment andeligibility for powered chairs. The removal of current criteria, in a phased manner,unless they refer to safety, is one of the recommendations which ministers are currentlyconsidering with a view of responding before the end of the year.

For young adults withthe condition, the Rehabilitation Framework will ensure that there is access torehabilitation services at home. We are also promoting the use of assistive technologieswithin the framework which will help support these individuals to remain as functionallyindependent as is possible within their own environment.

The Scottish Governmentfully recognises the invaluable contribution that unpaid carers make, not just tothose they care for but to the wider community, in relation to conditions such asDMD. That is why we have said that we will do more to support unpaid carers by intensifyinginitiatives to implement the conclusions of the Care 21 report: The future ofunpaid care in Scotland. In particular, we will focus on the areas of respite,carer training, young carers and carer centre support.

These children andyoung people have been identified as having very complex needs and a number of actionshave been identified in Delivering a Healthy Future – An Action Frameworkfor Children and Young People which are expected to improve services for themand their families.