Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3150 on 30 October 2003.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/search_wa.

SEERAD is carrying out aperiodic peer review (Research Organisation Assessment Exercise) of the Scottish Agricultural and Biological Research Institutes it sponsors. Thisreview process is still in progress but a summary of the outcome is expected tobe issued next year as part of the Department’s new research strategy.

SEERADis carrying out a periodic peer review (Research Organisation AssessmentExercise) of the research carried out at the agricultural and biologicalresearch institutes that it sponsors including the Hannah Research Institute.The review process is not yet complete. The review report on the HannahResearch Institute assessment will cover both biomedical and food research. Allreview reports are compiled on a confidential basis.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3150 on 30 October 2003.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/search_wa.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3150 on 30 october 2003.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/search_wa.

Information on the actualnumber of people diagnosed with depression by age and gender is not heldcentrally. The available figures for depression are based on those from asample of 70 GP practices representing a combined population of 424,484. Thetable shows the estimated number of patients seen by their GP with a diagnosisof depression, by age and gender, in the year ending December 2002.

Estimated Number of PatientsSeen for Depression, Year Ending 31 December 2002

Age Group (Years)	Males	Females
0-14	300	750
15-24	9,250	23,150
25-44	30,750	84,750
45-64	25,250	55,500
65-74	5,150	12,900
75-84	3,300	8,300
85 and over	700	2,350

Source: Continuous MorbidityRecording (CMR), ISD Scotland.

Deaths in Scotland arecoded using the Tenth Revision of the World Health Organisation’s InternationalClassification of Diseases (ICD10). Some 98% of deaths coded to the “Mental andBehavioural Disorders” chapter of ICD10 are due to vascular or unspecifieddementia (overwhelmingly amongst the elderly) or use of psychoactive substances(including alcohol and drugs). The table gives information on the remainingdeaths from mental and behavioural disorders. These cover a wide range ofconditions including schizophrenia, mood (affective) disorders, neuroticdisorders, and mental retardation.

Deaths fromSelected Mental and Behavioural Disorders¹, by Age and Gender,Scotland 2000-02

Year	Gender	All ages	Age Group
			0-14	15-29	30-44	45-59	60-74	75+
2000	M	11					3	8
	F	24				1	3	20
2001	M	7						7
	F	19		1	1	1	3	13
2002	M	12	1		1	1	2	7
	F	16	1		1		2	12

Note:

¹ICD10, F20-F99

Information on the actualnumber of people diagnosed with depression in the under 14 age groups is notheld centrally. Estimates based upon a sample of 70 Scottish General Practicesrepresenting a combined population of 424,484 indicates that approximately 300males and 750 females aged 0-14 years were seen by their GP in Scotland inthe year ending December 2002 with a diagnosis of depression. This data cannotbe further refined by age.

CHARIS is a joint initiativeby the Hannah Research Institute and the Scottish Agricultural College, set up with funding support from the Scottish Executive and Scottish Enterprise to deliver research, technology and advisoryservices for the Scottish food industry.

The detailed business planfor the initiative envisaged a substantial increase in commercial income, whichwould offset the planned reduction in Scottish Executive funded research, on accountof the substantial body of research already funded in this area by theExecutive, and a reduced requirement for further publicly funded research.

SEERAD has provided CHARIS FoodResearch with funding of £1 million, £0.9 million and £0.8 million in 2001-02,2002-03 and 2003-04 respectively. For 2004-05 and 2005-06 planned funding is£0.6 million and £0.4 million respectively.

There is a range of work inhand to make young people aware of mental illness.

Improving the mental healthof children and young people is one of the priority areas for the NationalProgramme for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being.

The national programmeprovides funding to a range of projects, including for example “Young People’sVoice” run by Penumbra and the West Lothian Child and Adolescent Mental HealthServices Project. All projects supported by the national programme require toproduce reports on outcomes, for evaluation by the national programme team.

In 2000, the Scottish Executive commissioned the Public Health Institute for Scotland(now NHS Health Scotland) to undertake a national review of child andadolescent mental health and the organisation and delivery of child andadolescent mental health services (CAMHS) within its Scottish Needs AssessmentProgramme (SNAP). The SNAP report was published in March 2003 and provides acomprehensive assessment of the mental health needs of children and young peoplein Scotland and what action is needed to strengthen support forthem throughout childhood and adolescence. The report recommends that attentionto mental health promotion, prevention and care should be integral to the workof all children's services.

Lastyear, the Child Health Support Group, an expert advisory group established bythe Scottish Executive in 2000, set up a Child and Adolescent Mental HealthDevelopment Group to work with the Scottish Executive Health Department andNHSScotland to ensure implementation of the SNAP recommendations. This includescollaborative work with the National Programme for Improving Mental Health andWell-being to develop proposals for national initiatives to improve mentalhealth and promote emotional resilience in early childhood and at vulnerablepoints of teenage transition.

The Scottish Executive Education Department has established an Emotional and Mental Well-beingCollaborative Group to examine the role of schools in improving the emotionaland mental health and well-being of children and young people.

One of the three key areasof NHS Health Scotland’s current Young People’s Programme is support for youngpeople’s mental health and well-being. This includes work to identify factors thatpromote emotional resilience and to evaluate the effectiveness of variousapproaches that address young people’s mental health.