- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Euan Robson on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will make available for a Scottish equivalent of the Department for Education and Skills' Early Support Pilot Programme.
Answer
We are not at this time making specific funding available in this way.
I refer the member to the answer given to S2W-7978 on 18 May 2004, for how we are tackling the parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how the Skipton Trust will be configured and who will be appointed as its trustees and by what selection process.
Answer
The Skipton Fund was incorporatedas a company limited by guarantee on 25 March 2004.No substantive appointments have as yet been made.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 May 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 18 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to encourage and recruit more specialised social workers for deaf and hard of hearing people.
Answer
More social workers are beingtrained. There was a 25% increase in qualifying social workers in 2003, and thesenumbers will increase by a further 33% over the next two years. The Social WorkServices Inspectorate is significantly increasing investment in training over thenext three years and is keen to work closely with all service providers, includingthose who work with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, to improve trainingof staff.
The Sensory Impairment ActionPlan, launched by the Scottish Executive in January 2004 recognises the importance of having trainedstaff available to work with people who are deaf and hard of hearing, and is nowtaking the work of the Action Plan forward to address the needs identified.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 29 March 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Peter Peacock on 13 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary schools have been closed in each year since 1999, stating which closures required ministerial consent, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The number of local authority primary schools closed in each of the calendar years concerned is shown in table 1 below. The table includes schools that have merged to form new schools in the local area and also, in a small number of cases, where a separate educational unit has closed and then been integrated into a school. The information is derived from the annual Scottish Executive Education Department school opening and closing exercise.
| Local Authority | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
| Aberdeen City | 1 | 1 | | | 1 |
| Aberdeenshire | 1 | 1 | | | 1 |
| Angus | | 2 | 1 | | |
| Argyll and Bute | 1 | | | | 1 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | | 2 | | 3 | 1 |
| Edinburgh City | 1 | | | 4 | 4 |
| Eilean Siar | | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Fife | | | | | 2 |
| Glasgow City | 1 | | | 6 | |
| Highland | | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Moray | | 3 | | | |
| North Lanarkshire | 2 | 5 | | | |
| Orkney | | 1 | | | |
| Scottish Borders | | 1 | | | |
| West Lothian | | | 1 | | |
Closures for which the Consent of Ministers was Required
| Angus | St Vigean’s Primary School | Closed 2001 |
| Argyll and Bute | Portnahaven Primary School | Closed 1999 |
| Dumfries andGalloway | Westerkirk Primary School | Closed 2000 |
| All Soul’s RC Primary School | Closed 2002 |
| Laurieston Primary School | Closed 2002 |
| St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School | Closed 2002 |
| Corsock Primary School | Closed 2003 |
| Eilean Siar | Manish Primary School | Closed 2000 |
| Dunskellar Primary School | Closed 2002 |
| Highland | Loch Choire Primary School | Closed 2000 |
| Moray | Boharm Primary School | Closed 2000 |
| Glenrinnes Primary School | Closed 2000 |
| West Lothian | Abercorn Primary School | Closed 2001 |
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Royal National Institute of the Blind's report, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss, what targets have been set for eye health and community care services for people with sight loss and what date has been set for such targets to be met.
Answer
I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7896 on 12 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to address any under-reporting of partial sight, in light of the statement that such under-reporting “has led to very misleading registration figures and the erroneous assumption amongst planners of care services that sight loss is a low-incidence disability” in the report by the Royal National Institute of the Blind, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss.
Answer
The Executive is currently undertakinga review of the certification and registration of visual impairment in Scotland witha view to improving the registration process.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the report by the Royal National Institute of the Blind, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss, what steps will be taken to introduce guidance on early referral for people diagnosed with sight loss to ensure greater take-up of low vision assessment and availability of social care assessment at time of need.
Answer
The Executive has launched anEye Care Review in order to improve services for blind and partially sighted peoplein Scotland and to promote better integration of services withinthe NHS, and between the NHS and other agencies. The review will examine the existingarrangements for the provision of eye care services and make recommendations foreffective models of care.
It has also begun work, withother bodies, on implementing the recommendations in the Sensory Impairment ActionPlan to address the community care needs of people who are blind, deaf or deafblind.The action plan was written in consultation with the Royal National Institute of the Blind, The Scottish Council on Deafness and Deafblind Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Royal National Institute of the Blind's report, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss, what steps will be taken to ensure that local authorities respond comprehensively to the needs of blind and partially-sighted people and that such action is taken in a consistent manner nationally.
Answer
I refer the member to the answergiven to question S2W-7896 on 12 May 2004. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for whichcan be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to reduce the figure of 77% of blind or partially-sighted people who live alone and are in poverty, as referred to in the Royal National Institute of the Blind's report, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss.
Answer
Although welfare benefits area reserved matter, the Executive is committed to improving the services for blindand partially sighted people in Scotland and has recently launched its Eye Care Review which willpromote better integration of services within the NHS, and between the NHS and otheragencies.
It has also begun working withother bodies on implementing the recommendations in the Sensory Impairment ActionPlan which will address the community care needs of people who are blind, deaf ordeafblind. The action plan was written in consultation with the Royal National Instituteof the Blind, The Scottish Council on Deafness and Deafblind Scotland.
- Asked by: Christine Grahame, MSP for South of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 28 April 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 12 May 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the Royal National Institute of the Blind's report, Unseen: Neglect, isolation and household poverty amongst older people with sight loss, what steps will be taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the 64% of blind or partially-sighted people who currently do not have daily visits from someone they trust.
Answer
The Scottish Executive has recently worked with the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB),Deafblind Scotland, the Scottish Council on Deafness and sensory impairedpeople to produce a Sensory Impairment Action Plan. This document contains a seriesof recommendations to improve access to community care services for sensory-impairedpeople and the Scottish Executive will be working in partnership with the RNIB, DeafblindScotland and the Scottish Council on Deafness and other organisations to implementthem.
The needs of blind and visuallyimpaired people are also being addressed through the Eye Care Review which is examiningthe existing arrangements for the provision of eye care services and will make recommendationsfor effective models of care.
