Chamber and committees

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The number of social work assistants working in each local authority is available in the Staff Of Scottish Local Authority Social Work Services publications. Between 1999 and 2004 (the latest year for which information is available) the number of social work assistants were as follows:

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
SW Assistants (Number)	247	912	1,039	1,226	1,482	2,162
SW Assistants (Whole-Time Equivalent)	225	799	889	1,049	1,303	1,917

As a result of changes in the classifications used on census forms, figures are not strictly comparable across years. Fuller information is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/16135/7725.

Prior to 1 April 2004, 16 to 18-year-old care leavers received benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions. In addition, local authorities had the power, through sections 29 and 30 of The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, to provide discretionary allowances on an ad-hoc basis. The amounts of these allowances varied between local authorities.

Since the Supporting Young People Leaving Care in Scotland Regulations came into force on 1 April 2004, local authorities have received the following funding to help plan and prepare for, and implement, the new duties.

	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Aberdeen City	32,739	130,957	163,696
Aberdeenshire	21,706	86,826	108,532
Angus	15,362	61,449	76,811
Argyll and Bute	11,654	46,616	58,270
Clackmannanshire	10,245	40,982	51,227
Dumfries and Galloway	20,273	81,093	101,366
Dundee City	41,268	165,070	206,338
East Ayrshire	26,356	105,423	131,779
East Dunbartonshire	10,471	41,884	52,355
East Lothian	13,685	54,738	68,423
East Renfrewshire	9,624	38,496	48,120
Edinburgh	81,563	326,252	407,815
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	2,553	10,211	12,764
Falkirk	26,783	107,134	133,917
Fife	64,972	259,889	324,861
Glasgow	210,204	840,816	1,051,020
Highland	31,416	125,664	157,080
Inverclyde	20,943	83,771	104,713
Midlothian	14,422	57,690	72,112
Moray	10,597	42,389	52,986
North Ayrshire	33,534	134,134	167,668
North Lanarkshire	73,210	292,841	366,051
Orkney	1,660	6,640	8,300
Perth and Kinross	16,597	66,388	82,985
Renfrewshire	38,175	152,700	190,875
Scottish Borders	12,328	49,312	61,640
Shetland	2,192	8,766	10,958
South Ayrshire	17,009	68,038	85,047
South Lanarkshire	55,949	223,797	279,746
Stirling	13,210	52,839	66,049
West Dunbartonshire	27,701	110,802	138,503
West Lothian	31,599	126,394	157,993
Total	1,000,000	4,000,000	5,000,000

 

From 1 April 2006 this funding will form part of the Grant Aided Expenditure allocation to local authorities.

The Scotland-wide Free Bus Scheme for Older and Disabled People will provide free travel for companions where assistance is required to travel. The eligibility criteria for companions will be set out in the draft order for The National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled People (Eligible Persons and Eligible Services)(Scotland) Order 2006.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not available centrally for all years or for all local authority areas.

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre holds tables (Bib. number 38938) which show, those local authority areas available:

Tables 1a, 1b & 1c: Children identified as undernourished (the 2% of the population with the lowest BMI) for those who have received a 39 to 42 month pre-school review, by local authority area and year of birth.

Tables 2a, 2b & 2c: Children identified as undernourished (the 2% of the population with the lowest BMI) for those who have received a primary 1, 7 and secondary 3 review (aged approximately four to five, 11 to 12 and 14 to 15 years respectively), by local authority area and year of birth.

It should be noted that there is no set international definition for undernourished children, hence the tables offer an indication only. Although underweight for their age, such children do not necessarily suffer from any health problems.

This information is not held centrally. However, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland published Clinical Standards on Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care in Hospitals in September 2003. These were developed in response to research which showed that patients in hospital could be at risk of malnutrition. The standards cover patient assessment on admission to hospital; the delivery of food and nutrition, and education and training of staff. The standards are published at: www.qualityimprovementscotland.com/nhsqis/files/Food,%20Fluid%20Nutrition.pdf.

This information is not held centrally. However, NHS Quality Improvement Scotland published Clinical Standards on Food, Fluid and Nutritional Care in Hospitals in September 2003. These were developed in response to research which showed that patients in hospital could be at risk of malnutrition. The standards cover patient assessment on admission to hospital; the delivery of food and nutrition, and education and training of staff. The standards are published at: www.qualityimprovementscotland.com/nhsqis/files/Food,%20Fluid%20Nutrition.pdf.

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland.

Since 1999, the CSO has funded one research project in 2002 on the impact of malnutrition in Scottish school children and adolescents at a cost of £16,748.

In this time, the CSO has also funded a number of research projects on nutrition and nutrient deficiencies in groups of people at risk from malnourishment. In particular, the CSO has funded four research projects on nutrition in older people at a total cost of £424,502 including a recently funded trial on whether oral nutritional supplements to malnourished older people after hospital discharge can reduce disability.