Chamber and committees

I understand that application CL/04/0444 was granted planning permission by South Lanarkshire Council on 12 April. The Executive’s Air Climate and Engineering Division and Trunk Road Network Management Division both responded to the council’s consultation exercise indicating that they had no comments to offer on the proposal.

The NHS Quality Improvement Scotlandaudit of the management of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) andallied conditions will compare the overall management and specific treatment ofthose young people considered to have this condition with the recommendations inthe SIGN guideline no. 52 Attention Deficit and Hyperkinetic Disorders in Childrenand Young People (published in June 2001). The audit is expected to commence beforethe summer and require up to two years for information gathering, analysis and publication.

SIGN guidelineno. 52 is the result of a well-established process involving the intensive scrutinyof the available evidence for effectiveness in the treatment and management of ADHDand allied disorders. The development of the guideline entailed detailed consultationwith professionals working in the field, with users of services and those caringfor them, as well as representatives from education, social work, and voluntaryorganizations. The guideline contains recommendations and good practice points derivedfrom that evidence.

As the audit will assess theextent to which day-to-day practice complies with the guideline, it is importantthat it involves all relevant perspectives. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, whichis committed to active public and patient partnership, will ensure that the auditof this guideline involves members of the public as appropriate to help to bringabout a sustained improvement in the patient experience.

I refer the member to the answerto question S2W-15603 on 25 April 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for whichcan be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The exact number of people diagnosed with depression in Scotland is not available centrally. However, national estimates of the numbers of people consulting for depression can be given based on the number of patients seen for the condition in general medical practices participating in PTI (Practice Team Information). PTI data are obtained from a sample of Scottish general practices whose population is broadly nationally representative of the Scottish population in terms of age, sex, deprivation category and rural/urban mix.

The estimated number of patients seen in general practices in Scotland for depression, based on PTI data, is as follows.

Estimated Number of Patients seen for Depression, by Age Group and Gender, Year Ending 31 March 2004

Age Group (Years)	Males	Females
0-14	300	500
15-24	9,300	24,000
25-44	39,500	83,800
45-64	28,400	57,000
65-74	5,100	11,500
75-84	2,600	7,200
85 and over	800	1,900
Total	86,000	185,900

 

We have commissioned a studyof the transport issues in and around Maybole and expect to see the reportlater this year. Decisions on future investment, including any possible bypass,will be made in the light of that report.

I launched Birth to Three: Supporting our Youngest Children on 18 January 2005. The guidance was commissioned by the Scottish Executive and produced by Learning and Teaching Scotland following consideration of the responses to the consultation document, Care and Learning for Children Birth to Three, which was issued in 2003. Learning and Teaching Scotland are currently developing additional materials to support the new guidance and these are expected to be issued later this year.

There are no plans to revise the new guidance.

The following table provides calculations for the cost of increasing the provision of free pre-school education.

	Additional Cost (£ million)
Provision of 3.5 hours per day	£57
Provision of 7 hours per day	£255

 

Assumptions Underlying Figures:

The above figures assume delivery over 33 weeks per year (current provision is for 412.5 hours per year of free pre-school education, i.e. 2.5 hours per weekday over 33 weeks per year).

The figures given are for the additional cost of increasing provision, i.e. they do not include current expenditure on pre-school education.

The figures assume that additional provision could be delivered between the local authority, voluntary and private sectors and would not require additional capital costs.

The Scottish Executive consider the outcomes of research when formulating early years policy. Current Scottish Executive research includes the Early Years Longitudinal Study Growing Up in Scotland which is still in its early stages but will develop an evidence base for early years including providing information on the benefits or effects of pre-school education. The Executive has also funded other relevant research such as Review of Childcare and the Development of Children 0-3: Research Evidence and Implications for Out-of-Home Provision by Colwyn Trevarthan of the University of Edinburgh and A Baseline Study of Outcome Indicators for Early Years Policies in Scotland by Fran Wasoff and colleagues at the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh.

In addition the Executive also takes account of relevant research published by other bodies such as the EPPE study (Effective Provision of Pre-School Education) undertaken by the Institute of Education at the University of London for the Department for Education and Skills in England.

Scottish ministers are keeping policy on the provision of pre-school education under review.

The Scottish Social Services Council published the qualifications criteria for registration of the early years and child care workforce in March 2004.

The Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics survey provides information about qualifications of the workforce. In 2003, 66% of the workforce were qualified to registration standards. This increased to 74% in 2004. Comparable information is not available before 2003.

The Executive have supplied the following corrected answer:

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Social Services Council published the qualifications criteria for registration of the early years and child care workforce in March 2004.

The Pre-School and Childcare Workforce Statistics survey provides information about qualifications of the workforce. In 2003, 65% of the workforce were qualified to registration standards. This increased to 71% in 2004. Comparable information is not available before 2003.