Chamber and committees

The Scottish Governmentworks collaboratively with voluntary sector organisations, service users and carersto develop and inform appropriate and responsive services for children and youngpeople with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This includes working with the nationalASD Reference Group to improve diagnosis, training and information provision andfunding projects to meet the diverse needs of children and adults with ASD. Thesepilot projects aim to inform service development across Scotland.

The ASD EducationWorking Group is taking forward the recommendations from Her Majesty’s Inspectorateof Education’s Education for Pupils with Autism Spectrum Disordersreport and the National Autistic Society Scotland’s make school make sense report. The intended outcome of thisgroup is the production of a resource pack for education authorities which willinclude: strategic planning for future service provision; guidance on the informationthey should be providing for parents, and guidance to schools.

The Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 places duties on education authoritiesto identify, meet and keep under the review the additional support needs of allpupils, including those with ASD. In 2007-08, the Scottish Government is providing£44.7 million specifically for the implementation of the 2004 act, inclusion, andthe training and development of staff working with pupils with additional supportneeds.

I invited a rangeof organisations with an interest in ticks and tick-borne disease to a meeting on20 September. At that meeting the group assessed the scale of the problem and potentialimpact on human health, the rural economy and on biodiversity. The group agreedto take action to promote awareness among the public, in particular among thosewho spend time in the countryside. Strategies for mitigation and control would beexplored in areas with particular tick-related problems. The group also agreed toreview the current state of research into ticks and tick-borne diseases and land-managementpolicies that may affect tick numbers and distribution. The group will meet againearly in 2008.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3549 on 27 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3549 on 27 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-3549 on 27 September 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

The Rural StewardshipScheme closed to applications in 2006. Future support for agri-environment willbe available through Rural Development Contracts under the new Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme 2007-13. We are putting in place arrangements for the new programme whichwill give local stakeholders an opportunity to have input to the process for settingregional priorities. We will also assist potential applicants by providing an earlyindication whether particular types of proposal are more or less likely to be successfulin securing funding.

The funding whichwas available to support agri-environment measures under the 2000-06 Scotland RuralDevelopment Programme was fully allocated. Budget resources totalling £404 millionhave been allocated to fund agri-environment options in the 2007-13 Scotland RuralDevelopment Programme. £171 million of this sum will cover commitments under existingagri-environment agreements and £233 million will be available for new commitmentswhich represents a significant increase on the total of £110 million which was availablefor new commitments under the last programme.

At present, new entrantsto farming and crofting who wish to access Single Farm Payment support may onlydo so, in accordance with EC Regulation 1782/2003, by purchasing entitlements onthe open market or through inheritance of entitlements. Recognising the difficultiesfaced by new entrants, we have included in the proposed Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme (SRDP) a measure that will make an additional £10 million available tothem, and I have also asked the Tenant Farming Forum to consider other ways in whichwe can help new entrants.

The SRDP also includesa range of business development measures to support modernisation, diversification,restructuring and skills development, under which young farmers will generally beeligible for a higher rate of grant.

At present, new entrantsto farming and crofting who wish to access Single Farm Payment support may onlydo so, in accordance with EC Regulation 1782/2003, by purchasing entitlements onthe open market or through inheritance of entitlements. Recognising the difficultiesfaced by new entrants, we have included in the proposed Scotland Rural DevelopmentProgramme a measure that will make an additional £10 million available to them,and I have also asked the Tenant Farming Forum to consider other ways in which wecan help new entrants.

The ScottishExecutive’s Air Discount Scheme acknowledges that air service provision inOrkney is a key priority and one of the by-products of the Scheme has been anincreasing frequency in air services serving Orkney. Through the servicesprovided by Loganair Ltd there are connections to the global airline networkthrough its franchise agreement with British Airways.