Chamber and committees

We announced on 26 September 2002that we havecommissioned research into the needs of people with learning disabilities whoare in prison or secure accommodation. This will find out what type of servicesthey receive, and identify any gaps in provision across health, education andwelfare services. It will also find out more about local good practice, so wecan improve the way needs are assessed and met for people with learningdisabilities in prisons or secure accommodation throughout Scotland.

Theresearch is being done by the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health.Work should be completed at the end of October 2003.

The Chief Scientist Officewithin the Scottish Executive Health Department, is currently funding sevenresearch projects into the needs of people with learning disabilities at a costof £749,897. Details of these projects are available from the National ResearchRegister (NRR), a copy of which is in the Scottish Parliament InformationCentre (Bib. number 17404).

We plan to commissionresearch on employment for people with learning disabilities later in thecurrent financial year. The Chief Scientist Office will be willing to considerfurther quality research applications into the needs of people with learningdisabilities, which would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

As wenote in our Lifelong Learning Strategy Life through Learning; Learningthrough Life, which was published in February of this year, uneven accessto lifelong learning has the capacity to entrench inequalities. Our goal is tocreate a Scotland where people have the chanceto learn, irrespective of their background or current personal circumstancesand we are clear that the mainstreaming of equality into policy and legislationdevelopment is a key driver in realising this aim.

the Scottish Executive is committed to inclusive policies that allow all studentsto participate fully in further education and achieve their potential.Substantial funds have been allocated towards this and compliance with theSpecial Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. People with a disabilityaffecting learning form one of the priority groups for action on the promotionof adult literacy and numeracy.

£4.5million has been allocated from Beattie funding to improve support for studentsin further education and develop inclusiveness. The BRITE Centre initiative at Stevenson College has been established to equipstaff with the skills to assess and support students with additional needs.Over 80 staff from every college are participating in the initiative.

Officials at the Scottish Executive have just instituted a new statistical return to measure progressagainst various recommendations set out in The same as you? A review ofservices for people with learning disabilities. This asks about the numberof people with learning disabilities by local authority area; how many have theirown tenancies, and how many have access to Local Area Co-ordinators,independent advocacy, Personal Life Plans, employment opportunities, furthereducation, employment training, community short breaks, and alternatives totraditional day services.

This will provideinformation on these areas for the first time in Scotland.

Employment has been one of the initial priorities for the national The same as you? Implementation Group.It established a sub-group to look at employment, and its report is expected indue course .

The Scottish Executive isproviding £1.3 billion this year to help local authorities deliver social careservices, including learning disabilities.

The number of individualswith learning disabilities in long-stay hospitals has been coming down for sometime, and at October 2002 was around 900. Lennox Castle near Glasgow closed in May 2002, Birkwood Hospital inLanarkshire in September 2002, and the Royal Scottish National Hospital at Larbert closed in early 2003.

Many people with learningdisabilities who formerly lived in a hospital are now living in the community,with packages of care and support tailored to meet their individual needs.

AShort Life Working Group of the national The same as you? Implementation Groupis preparing a report on hospital closures which is due soon. Itsrecommendations will be intended to help ensure the 2005 target is met.

the Scottish Executive is planning to spend over £7.3 billion this year onproviding health services for everyone in Scotland, including people with learning disabilities.

Wepublished Promoting Health,Supporting Inclusion in July 2002, about thecontribution that nurses and midwives can make to the care and support ofpeople with learning disabilities. It aims to ensure that all nurses and midwivesrecognise the particular needs of people with learning disabilities, and worktowards promoting and improving their health.

We have asked NHS Health Scotland toundertake a Needs Assessment of the health needs of children and adults withlearning disabilities in Scotland, to inform the development and commissioning ofservices for the future. This is expected in the autumn.

It has long been the Scottish Executive’s policy to move the emphasis of spending on learning disabilityservices away from hospital provision. The learning disability change funds we providedfrom 2001-02 are a lever for moving the balance towards services in the community.There has also been a significant shift in spending away from hospital provisiontowards supporting people with learning disabilities to live in the community.