- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many special educational needs units within state schools have closed from 1997 to 2000.
Answer
This information is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 December 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 21 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what training is currently available for teachers, in the light of the policy of mainstreaming, with regard to teaching children with autism.
Answer
The Scottish Executive provides local authorities with over £5 million per year for in-service development and training of teachers, classroom-based staff and trainee educational psychologists working with children with special educational needs, including autism. There are a variety of courses available, including the Post-Graduate Certificate/Diploma autism course as well as skills-based training courses.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners are undergoing a programme of communication therapy.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:This information is not available.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to assess whether or not a prisoner has communication difficulties.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Prisoners are encouraged to access the learning opportunities provided and the Basic Skills Agency Assessment is used to identify those with difficulties. The principal focus of the work in the learning centres in prisons is on basic and core skill development, including communication. Some 20% of the learning undertaken in the first six months of this year was in this area.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to address learning difficulties among prisoners.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Learning difficulties in prisoners are addressed by screening prisoners for basic skills levels and prioritising access to specialist learning support for those who have particular difficulties.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether data is collected on the prevalence of speech and language difficulties among the prison population.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:This data is not gathered.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 12 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to assess whether or not a remand prisoner has communication difficulties.
Answer
I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:People on remand are not routinely screened for difficulties with communication due to the short length of time in custody.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 4 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive what the current membership is of the Glasgow Housing Partnership Steering Group.
Answer
The Glasgow Housing Partnership Steering Group was set up to develop a framework within which a transfer proposal could be developed. The work of the steering group ceased to function on the publication of the framework document Better Homes Stronger Communities in April 2000. Since then the Interim Management Committee of the Glasgow Housing Association was formed to take forward the development of the proposal. The names of the members of that committee are available from the Glasgow Housing Association.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jackie Baillie on 1 December 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available to the Parliament the minutes of any meetings it has had with the Department of Social Security regarding any implications which housing benefit reform will have for the proposed housing stock transfer in Glasgow.
Answer
Our
Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government sets out the principles underlying our working relationship with Whitehall Departments and ensures good communication where one administration's work may have a bearing upon the responsibilities of another administration. In keeping with this we have kept DSS informed with the progress of the proposed Glasgow Stock Transfer and they have kept us in touch with their proposals for housing benefit reform.
The Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information exempts from disclosure any information which would harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion including internal opinion, advice, recommendation, consultation and deliberation (Exemption 2 of Part II). As our discussions regarding housing benefit reform and the proposed Glasgow Stock Transfer with DSS relate to the process by which a decision or policy has been reached, they are exempt from disclosure under the terms of the code. Both the Code of Practice and the Memorandum are available on our website.
- Asked by: Mr Lloyd Quinan, MSP for West of Scotland, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 15 November 2000
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 29 November 2000
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a copy of the minutes of all meetings to date of the Voluntary Issues Review Group.
Answer
I am arranging for copies of the minutes of the meetings of the Part V Voluntary Issues Review Group, which Jackie Baillie chairs, to be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.I expect the group to report by the end of the calendar year on the outcome of its deliberations.