Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally. NHS boards and local authorities are responsible for ensuring that advocacy is available to all who need it within their respective areas and that resources are matched to meet these needs.

The Scottish Independent Advocacy Service has produced a Map of Advocacy and this is available at:

http://www.siaa.org.uk/images/stories/SIAA_AdvocacyMap_2011_2012.pdf.

The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and accompanying Regulations and Guidance, set the eligibility criteria and assessment process in relation to disabled children and young people; including sharing of information, joint assessments and collaboration with both statutory and voluntary agencies. Each local authority will have their own defined standards for the delivery of these services, set within the context of local priorities to fulfil their statutory obligations.

Sections 23 and 24 of the Act relate specifically to the assessment of disabled children and their carers.

Subsequent legislation including the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act (1996) and the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 placed further duties on local authorities when carrying out assessments.

Education authorities have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act to provide identify, make and review provision for children and young people for additional support needs, including those children who have a disability. In addition, specific provisions are in place for children who are identified and are brought to the attention of the education authority as having a disability from 0- 3 years of age. In these circumstances education authorities have a duty to provide additional support. The Code of Practice for Additional Support for Learning provides guidance to education authorities and partners on this provision and the assessment of children’s and young people’s additional support needs.

This information is not held centrally. While Scottish Government does not collect consolidated statistics for services provided to disabled children and young people by local authority, figures are available for disabled children and young people in a number of areas. These include:

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12543 on 27 February 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Pricing of branded medicines is currently a reserved matter and proposals for Value Based Pricing are being taken forward by the UK Government’s Department of Health. The Scottish Government is supportive of the principle of value based pricing and is continuing to work with the Department of Health on its Development.

UK wide negotiations on value based pricing are on-going at present and all parties concerned are working towards agreeing and implementing the new arrangements early in 2014.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12543 on 27 February 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

No meetings have taken place between the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing and Chairs or the Chief Executives of NHS boards, for the specific purpose of discussing the impact of the proposed welfare reforms.

Directors of Public Health from Scottish Health boards have identified that reform of the welfare benefits system may have an effect on health outcomes and they have commissioned the Scottish Public Health Network (ScotPHN) to review the evidence of impact on health and identify mitigating actions. ScotPHN has published interim guidance which can be accessed through their website (www.scotphn.net).

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12543 on 27 February 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-12543 on 27 February 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

Some references were made at the NHS Ayrshire and Arran Annual Review on 17 December 2012. Whilst it was clearly not appropriate for particular incidents/individual cases to be discussed in a public forum, I was assured that NHS Ayrshire and Arran take such allegations extremely seriously and are actively investigating. As in any such case, should the board’s review identify any necessary actions, I would expect these to be implemented as a matter of priority.

NHS Health Scotland invited a stakeholder panel who picked up (from the annual report) on the work Health Scotland were doing in this area and the panel was very supportive of the approach being adopted.

No other incidents of bullying and harassment were raised at any of the recent annual review meetings.