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The Executive monitors localauthorities’ activities on direct payments in two ways.

Local authorities are requiredto complete the quarterly statistical return DP1 of key monitoring information,which the Scottish Executive compiles into an annual statistical return. Thelatest national figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at thefollowing link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/25160444/0.

In response to the HealthCommittee’s recent Care Inquiry, the Scottish Executive issued in September draftguidance for public consultation which highlights that Local ImprovementTargets (LITs) of the Joint Performance Information and Assessment Framework(JPIAF) are used to monitor local authority performance. It is an expectationof the grant aided expenditure (GAE) for direct payments for 2006 onwards thatlocal authorities provide local information, support and training, both fordirect payments recipients and personal assistants (PAs,) and local authoritystaff involved in financing and delivering care locally. We shall use LITs tomonitor progress on delivery. Further information on LITs can be found on the Scottish Executive Joint Future website at the following link:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Health/care/JointFuture/LITS.

The Scottish Executive doesnot monitor the training of social workers in the provision and implementationof direct payments. As part of the grant aided expenditure for direct paymentsin 2006, we expect local authorities to provide training for their staff whoseroles involve care assessment and care management.

We are not aware of anylocal authorities currently operating waiting lists for direct payments.

A wide range of mental healthservices are provided for young people in Scotland. Whilst we do not collect detailed information centrallyon every service, Children and Young People’s Mental Health: A Framework for Promotion,Prevention and Care was developed in 2005 to assist local health, education andsocial services in planning and delivering integrated approaches to children andyoung people’s mental health and wellbeing, and provides an overview of servicesput in place for young people.

The Executive monitors the useof funding allocated to local authorities to tackle antisocial behaviour throughannual reporting as part of the 2005-08 Outcome Agreement approach. Guidance onthis is available in Guidance on: - Antisocial Behaviour Strategies - AccountabilityFramework and Outcome Agreements - Reporting on Antisocial Behaviour Strategiesand Outcome Agreements, a copy of which can be found in the Scottish ParliamentInformation Centre (Bib. number 40824).

Latest available figures, toend March 2005, show that no antisocial behaviour orders have been applied for byArgyll and Bute Council since the measure was introduced.

The mental well-being of childrenand young people is a cross-Executive priority with action underway in a range ofareas of policy and practice. Getting it Right for Every Child is the Executive’sover-arching programme of reform for children’s services which will ensure thatall agencies working with young people will join up, plan together and meet allthe needs of the child. Many schools involved in the Schools of Ambition programmeare tackling improvements in pupil confidence and self-esteem as part of their whole-schooltransformation.

The Scottish Health PromotingSchools Unit (SHPSU) is working to ensure that every school works toward becominga health promoting school by 2007. The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition)(Scotland) Bill, currently being considered by parliament, is intended to buildon this work and go further by placing health promotion - including the promotionof positive mental health - at the heart of all schools’ activities.

Children and Young People’s Mental Health: A Framework for Promotion, Preventionand Care, which was published in 2005, established an integrated approach to positive mentalhealth promotion, prevention of mental illness and early care and treatment of mentalhealth problems amongst children and young people in health, education and socialservices.

Improvingthe mental health of children and young people is one of the six priority areasfor action under the Executive’s National Programme for Improving Mental Healthand Well-being.

These key interventions designedto promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people are supporteddirectly and indirectly by a range of other initiatives, funded by the Executive.

The information requested isnot held centrally.

The Executive has provided dedicatedfunding to local authorities to tackle antisocial behaviour (ASB) since 2004-05.Argyll and Bute Council’s ASB funding between 2004-05 and 2006-07 was as follows:

2004-05 – £184,000

2005-06 – £204,700

2006-07 – £247,000.

Local authority funding to tackleASB in 2007-08 has yet to be released.

Information on average classsizes in secondary schools is not routinely collected. The average primary classsize in Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire in 2005-06 are available in the statistical publicationPupils in Scotland, 2005 which can be accessed at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/28083932/0.