Chamber and committees

The involvement of staff based outwith Scotland would not affect the processing of a research grant application or affect the decision to award grant provided that the principal grant holder is a permanent salaried member of staff in a Scottish institution and the administrating body is based in Scotland.

The Scottish Council on Deafness' application for funding from the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) was turned down on 1 November 2001 because it lay outside the remit of CSO's research grant scheme which requires that the principal research grant holder must be a permanent salaried member of staff in a Scottish Institution and the administrating body must be based in Scotland. Additionally, the proposal was considered to be more in the area of a needs assessment and audit, rather than a research proposal designed to provide new knowledge and findings which are able to be generalised.Further information on CSO grant conditions is available on the CSO website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk/cso.

The possibility of a review has been discussed by officials with the Director General, but no final decision on this matter has yet been made.

The transfer to the Scottish Parliament of legislative competence for the promotion and construction of new railways in Scotland formed part of a package of measures for railways devolution announced on 31 March 1998 by Henry McLeish, the then Scottish Transport Minister, in the House of Commons.

I anticipate that the Order in Council under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998, to provide legislative competence to the Scottish Parliament in respect of the promotion and construction of railways, will be laid and brought into force during the first half of 2002.

Educational psychologists are employed within local authorities.Data is not collected centrally on individual educational psychologists' levels of professional training in particular specialist areas of psychology, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, educational psychologists will be introduced to literature on ADHD during their training and will gain experience of working with children with ADHD during placements. In addition, those already in post will have opportunities to update their knowledge in this area through Continuing Professional Development.

It is the responsibility of education authorities in terms of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to establish which children in their area have pronounced, specific or complex special educational needs which require continuing review. If a child is assessed as having such needs then the education authority must open and keep a Record of Needs.The Executive issues general guidance to local authorities, parents and others on Records of Needs legislation and good practice in Circular 4/96 - Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs: Assessment and Recording and the Manual of Good Practice. Additional information for parents is available in the Parents' Guide to Special Educational Needs and through the Enquire helpline funded by the Scottish Executive. Further guidance will be produced following completion of the current review of the Records of Needs process.

The Scottish Office issued detailed guidance to all Directors of Education in April 1999 about the implementation of the Classroom Assistants initiative. The guidance, which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 13145), covers issues such as job design, management and supervision, recruitment, screening and training.

The Executive issued general guidance to local authorities on Records of Needs legislation and good practice in Circular 4/96 - Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs: Assessment and Recording and the Manual of Good Practice. Further guidance will be produced following completion of the current review of the Records of Needs process.

Guidance issued by the Scottish Executive refers to the circumstances under which any child with special educational needs (SEN) requires a Record of Needs. It does not refer in detail to any particular disorder such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).This guidance is contained in the Manual of Good Practice for all staff and professionals involved with children and young people with special educational needs, Effective Provision for Special Educational Needs (EPSEN), Circular 4/96: Children and Young People with SEN - Assessment and Recording, Taking a Closer Look at Promoting Social Competence and Sharing Good Practice. The information in these documents is applicable to educational psychologists considering whether a child with ADHD requires a Record of Needs.