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The Executive monitors therange of services provided by local authorities for people with learning disabilitiesin a number of ways. Monitoring of services for people with learningdisabilities is delivered through the inspection of services by the Social WorkInspection Agency (SWIA). A pilot multi-agency inspection of learningdisability services led by the SWIA and involving service users, carers, theCare Commission, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, Her Majesty’s Inspectorateof Education and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, is currently underwayin Ayrshire. An evaluation of this multi-agency inspection will be carried outprior to further inspections.

The Scottish Executivecollects annual statistics on implementation of The same as you? and the2005 statistical release is due for publication at the end of May. The NationalOverview of the Partnership in Practice agreements will also includeinformation on the way the Change Fund is being spent by each local authority.

The work of The same asyou? National Implementation Group, Users and Carers Group, and Partnershipin Practice Network helps to highlight the range and quality of services thatare available in each local authority area, and to consider areas where furtherdevelopment is needed.

The same as you? Implementation Group has produced a number of reports,which demonstrate areas where work has been taken forward to implement therecommendations of The same as you?. These reports look at hospitalclosure and service reprovision, employment, advocacy, children’s services, andday services.

The majority ofrecommendations were not for the Executive to implement, however, the NationalOverview of the Partnership in Practice agreements will outline areas ofprogress at a national and local level.

Local authorities receive£16 million Change Fund per annum, to help implement the recommendations in Thesame as you? review of services for people with learning disabilities.Additionally they are to receive an extra £4.2 million in 2006-07 and £5 million2007-08 to take account of the increasing population and of post-hospitalclosure demands. The additional change funds are included with general localgovernment grant aided expenditure. A breakdown of Change Fund allocations by localauthority can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39507).

With this exception, nospecific funding allocation is made to local authorities for learningdisability services. Funding comes from community care allocations and it isfor local authorities to allocate these resources as appropriate for their localarea.

A table showing net revenueexpenditure figures for learning disability services, by local authority area,has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39534).

No specific funding allocationis made to NHS boards for learning disability services. Each NHS board is givenan annual allocation of funds to meet the health care needs of its residentpopulation, including the cost of learning disability services, taking accountof national and local priorities. It is for NHS boards to decide and prioritiseon what services they provide for their residents. There are no plans toring-fence funds for expenditure on learning disabilities.

A table showing learningdisabilities services expenditure by NHS board has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39508).

The outcome of discussions withthe Department of Work and Pensions is the proposal in the Bankruptcy and DiligenceBill to stop creditors from arresting all the money in a bank account. A minimumbalance will be protected, currently fixed at £370. This reform will help all debtors,including those who rely on benefit income.

We are currently developing monitoringarrangements on the use of New Future Fund successor funding as part of the guidanceto Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs). The Enterprise, Transport and LifelongLearning Department with assistance from Communities Scotland, will be monitoringthe reports from CPPs.

We do not yet have this information.We have agreed with Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) that by the end of Februarythey should have notified projects that funding has been extended until June 2006.Early in June, CPPs will set out longer term plans on how they intend to use NewFutures Fund successor funding in their areas.

The same as you? national implementation group is preparing a children’s report, which illustrates how the principles of The same as you? apply to people of all ages including children and young people. Whilst education and the transition to adult life are major features of the report, it also has a strong focus on the importance of health, play and leisure. The report, due for publication in spring 2006, emphasises the responsibilities of all organisations and individuals in ensuring young people with learning disabilities are included and given the same opportunities as everybody else.

The Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act (2000) strengthened the rights of parents of children with special educational needs to have their children educated in mainstream schools, providing children with the opportunity to play, learn and socialise together. Furthermore the further education sector has made great efforts in recent years to make college provision accessible and inclusive to all those who wish to study and participation by students with disabilities or additional support needs has increased year on year.

For details of further work to promote the inclusion of young people with learning disabilities in their own communities, I refer the member to the answers to questions  S2W-22677, S2W-22678, S2W-22679, S2W-22680, S2W-22681, S2W-22682 and S2W-22683 on 13, 9, 21, 10, 7, 2 and 9 February respectively. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Information on funding allocated for spend on further education for young people with learning disabilities is not held centrally.

The core funding which further education colleges receive from the Scottish Funding Council goes towards meeting the needs of all students, however some students have additional support needs which may require additional funding. The Scottish Funding Council make two additional allocations which are bursary allocations and inclusiveness funding.

Bursary allocations are paid to colleges to enable them to implement the National Policy for further education bursaries. In 2005-06 this allocation was £52.2 million. Part of the policy enables colleges to pay an additional learning needs allowance, which may be offered to a disabled student towards study or travel-related expenses. This allowance is not means-tested as it is intended to help meet the additional costs that students have due to their disability.

Inclusiveness formula funding is paid to colleges to enable them to take forward the inclusiveness agenda as defined by the Beattie report in 1999. In 2005-06, this allocation was £1.6 million.

The Executive is committed toensuring that everyone has the chance tolearn irrespective of their background or personal circumstances. Our widening accesspolicy is helping to break down barriers to participation faced by all groups includingstudents with learning disabilities.

The further education sectorhas made great efforts in recent years to make college provision accessible andinclusive to all those who wish to study and participation by students with disabilitiesor additional support needs has increased year on year.

Scotland’s colleges receive additional funding in respect of studentswho either attend a special programme or who require additional support to undertakea mainstream course.

In addition to mainstream courses,Scottish colleges provide a range of programmes and courses which allow young peoplewith learning disabilities to access further education and develop and improve theircore skills.

We recognise that for some studentswith the most complex needs, there is limited or no suitable provision in Scotland. Lastyear, we undertook a consultation to find out more about current provision; fundingpolicies and experiences of young people with additional support needs. The consultationclosed on 31 October 2005. We are currently considering options on how to bestmeet the needs of students with complex needs and will announce the next steps shortly.