Chamber and committees

The figures I provided inresponse to your question S2W-27811 on 12 September 2006, indicate that in highereducation institutes one in 350 students reported a mental health difficulty in2004-05, whereas in colleges the ratio was one in 90 vocational students.

Collegesprovide flexible and accessible programmes of study, including evening andweekend classes, often close to the student’s home. The more flexible and modular nature of collegeprovision is likely to be attractive particularly while students are dealingwith physical and mental health issues.

The second part of yourquestion has been addressed in the response to your question S2W-27810 on 4September. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28596 on 4 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Under the Social Work (Scotland) Act1968, as amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act2002, there are no prescribed deadlines within which carer assessments must be conducted.

Under the Scottish Executive’sJoint Performance Information and Assessment Framework, local partnerships now setannual targets for completed carers’ assessments and monitor progress against them.This is being done through Local Improvement Targets (LITs) which are agreed byNHS boards, local authorities and other relevant partners. At present LITs focuson older people’s services. From 2007 we plan to extend them to all client groupsand to all carers. It is for individual partnerships to aggregate the need identifiedin carer, and user, assessments in order to plan service provision in their area.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-28597 on 4 October 2006. All answers to writtenparliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facilityfor which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Social Work (Scotland) Act1968, as amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act2002, gives carers who provide, or intend to provide, care on a regular and substantialbasis the right to an assessment of their support needs as a carer. Such an assessmentis independent of any assessment of need carried out on the person cared for. Localauthorities and NHS boards are also required by the 2002 act to inform carers oftheir right to an assessment and have a general duty to help and support carers.Local authorities and partner agencies must take the carer’s assessment into account,as well as the views of the carer, in deciding what services to provide to the cared-forperson.

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 does not provide for a formal assessment of carers of people withmental health problems. However, it sets out principles which professionals performingfunctions under the act have to consider. These include taking into account theviews of the person’s carer and their needs and circumstances. The person’s primarycarer also has the right to appear at hearings of the Mental Health Tribunal forScotland, to make representation and to lead or produce evidence. These measuressupport and encourage both patients and their carers to be more meaningfully involvedin the care and treatment provided.

Draft Scottish Planning Policy6: Renewable Energy was published on 10 July. In support of the Executive’spolicy on micro-renewables, the draft specifically seeks views on the introductionof a target for a percentage of on site generation from micro-renewables technologiesin certain new developments. The closing date for responses to the draft is 6 October 2006.

The Executive is due to publishthe first Energy Efficiency and Microgeneration Strategy and Action Plan for Scotland by theend of the year. This will look at the contributionthat micro-generation and energy efficiency can play in helping us to meet our climatechange targets.

The current treatment for plagiocephalywithin the NHS, in each NHS board area, includes supervised “tummy time” while thechild is awake, and reinforcing the “back to sleep” message, positioning the child’shead on different sides each night when asleep.

 

Information on householdconnection in the UK to the mains electricity supply is not centrally recorded.Subsidies for household connection are determined and administered byindividual local authorities across the UK. Information comparing subsidies at national levelis not held centrally.

Householders seekingconnection to the mains electricity supply may be eligible for a housing improvementand repair grant from their by local authority if their house is deemed belowthe tolerable standard set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. The tolerablestandard includes a requirement for adequate lighting, heating, cookingfacilities and hot water, all of which will require a source of power.

Grants may be given toimprove or replace an inadequate power supply. However, use of a generator maybe more appropriate, for example in remote areas. It is unlikely that a grantwould be given for connection to the mains when a generator in working order isin place.