Chamber and committees

People with autism spectrum disorder are most likely to be diagnosed in an out-patient clinic and managed in the community or general practice. Diagnostic information for patients attending out-patient clinics is not available centrally.

Estimated prevalence figures are detailed in the recent guidance for commissioners of services for people with autism spectrum disorder, published by the Scottish Government at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/03/27085247/0.

These figures are based on the prevalence rate of 0.9% from the Office of National Statistics survey of the mental health of children and young people in Britain (Green et al, 2005).

Specialist investigations, such as skin testing and the investigation of specialist antibodies and immune cell function are carried out at consultant-led immunology and allergy services in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow which also take referrals from across Scotland.

This information is not held centrally.

Information from across NHS boards indicates that food allergies and intolerances are dealt with by many specialists including consultant dermatologists, immunologists, psychiatrists, gastroenterologists, dieticians, paediatricians with special interests and general practitioners with special interests. In addition there are also nurse specialists in place.

All regulated services, including those delivered to people on the autistic spectrum are monitored and inspected by regulatory bodies such as the Care Commission, the Social Work Inspection Agency, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and Her Majesty''s Inspectorate of Education.

On 2 April 2008, the Scottish Government issued policy and practice guidance on commissioning services for people on the autism spectrum. This marked completion of the work of the Autism Spectrum Disorder Reference (ASD) Group which took forward the recommendations of The Public Health Institute of Scotland''s ASD Health Needs Assessment Report of 2001.

The guidance sets out a number of actions for local agencies, including identifying and providing appropriate services and supports for people with ASD. It also provides information about models of support and nationally funded developments that improve outcomes for people with ASD.

The total number of passenger miles travelled by train each year since 1945 is not held centrally.

However, table 1 shows the number of passenger miles travelled on First ScotRail services since 1996 onwards, which accounts for 96 per cent of the Scottish rail network. Table 2 shows the total number of passenger journeys originating in Scotland from 1960 onwards.

Table 1: Passenger Miles “ First ScotRail only

>	Passenger Miles (Million)
1996-97	1,039
1997-98	1,086
1998-99	1,132
1999-2000	1,190
2000-01	1,205
2001-02	1,224
2002-03	1,208
2003-04	1,294
2004-05	1,382
2005-06	1,459
2006-07	1,495

Source (both tables): Transport Scotland.

Table 2: Passenger journeys originating in Scotland, 1960-61 to 2005-06

Financial Year	All Passenger Journeys Originating in Scotland (Million)	Financial Year	All Passenger Journeys Originating in Scotland (Million)
1960-61	64.9	1983-84	55.7
1961-62	63.4	1984-85	51.3
1962-63	72.3	1985-86	57.1
1963-64	71.7	1986-87	53.1
1964-65	73.0	1987-88	54.1
1965-66	71.0	1988-89	54.0
1966-67	65.8	1989-90	51.8
1967-68	65.9	1990-91	52.8
1968-69	67.0	1991-92	54.5
1969-70	68.4	1992-93	59.3
1970-71	70.7	1993-94	59.1
1971-72	66.5	1994-95	54.4
1972-73	61.2	1995-96	56.7
1973-74	60.5	1996-97	57.5
1974-75	69.1	1997-98	60.7
1975-76	66.2	1998-99	62.5
1976-77	60.1	1999-2000	64.9
1977-78	56.8	2000-01	64.8
1978-79	59.7	2001-02	64.6
1979-80	57.6	2002-03	61.4
1980-81	61.5	2003-04	66.1
1981-82	57.8	2004-05	72.9
1982-83	49.5	2005-06	78.1

 

I am aware that some higher education institutions do admit students with advanced highers into the second year of certain degree courses. Information on the particular institutions and courses is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Given that the procedure for admitting students to any particular course is a matter for the individual institution to determine, the member may wish to approach Universities Scotland to see whether they can provide this information on behalf of their members.

The information in the following table shows the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources in Scotland, broken down by year and fuel source. This information is based on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform''s (BERR) Energy Trends publication and from information provided directly by BERR. Figures for 1999 are not available in the format requested.

Figures for heat are not available in the format requested. However, the Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) has recently estimated that up to 4% of Scotland''s heat demand is currently provided by renewables. The FREDS report is available from the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

Electricity Generated in Gigawatt Hours (GWh) by Fuel Source

Year	Hydro Natural Flow	Wind, Wave and Solar	Landfill Gas	Other Renewables	Total Renewables
2000	4,665	217	69	21	4,972
2001	3,738	245	109	110	4,202
2002	4,455	406	157	80	5,099
2003	2,902	449	228	146	3,725
2004	4,475	848	339	173	5,836
2005	4,588	1,281	395	200	6,464
2006	4,225	2,023	424	290	6,961

Note: Other biofuels includes biofuels co-fired with fossil fuels.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) (ROS) is administered by Ofgem, whose website, www.ofgem.gov.uk has information about the number of Scottish Renewables Obligation Certificates issued since the introduction of the ROS in April 2002.

The ROS creates demand amongst electricity suppliers and thus a market for Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs), meaning that their value is not uniform and will vary depending on the conditions prevailing within that market at any given time. As a guide, the average price achieved at an auction in January this year by the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency (Scotland) was £49.92 per ROC.