Chamber and committees

I refer Mr McMahon to the answer I gave to question S1W-7258 on 8 June 2000.

In November 1999, we published Social Justice - a Scotland where everyone matters, which set out our commitment to tackling exclusion and disadvantage wherever it occurs. At a local level, action to achieve the milestones is being taken by our network of Social Inclusion Partnerships.

Earlier this year I confirmed our continuing financial commitment to the Blantyre/North Hamilton and Motherwell North Social Inclusion Partnerships by providing them with funding allocations totalling over £2.5 million from the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund for 2000-01. Further details of their progress and their plans for the coming year will be set out in the annual reports which both Social Inclusion Partnerships will produce by the end of June 2000.

Further to my answer of 23 February, I am today announcing the allocation of £5.26 million to Edinburgh for the immediate provision of interim direct access facilities for people who are presently sleeping rough in Edinburgh; for the development of a new reception and direct access facility, for the provision of services for rough sleepers who have complex health and addiction support needs and (as announced in February) to continue funding current RSI projects.

I have also allocated funds to Glasgow to allow for all currently funded RSI projects to continue until March 2001 with provision for their further extension, in the light of a developing strategy for Glasgow; to move people out of hostels into supported accommodation and to improve services in the hostels as recommended by the Glasgow Review Team. I am awarding £10 million to Glasgow of which £5 million is for immediately identified needs, with a further £3 million reserved to fund proposals arising from the outcome of the current review being carried out into street homelessness in Glasgow. In addition I am making a further £2 million available to be used to provide added impetus to the work of the Glasgow Review Team in this financial year. I plan to make a further announcement about resources to tackle the problems of rough sleeping on Thursday 1 June.

Lanarkshire Drug Action Team are committed to an extension of Shared Care activity in the area in line with the Action In Partnership strategy. This includes a comprehensive training and support service in which over 50% of GP practices in the area are participating. The Drug Action Team aim to have 80% of GP practices participating by 2002.

The Scottish Executive has no plans to publish statistics on educational qualifications obtained by pupils in special schools.

The Scottish Executive does not collect information about pupils' home towns. Information is collected on the numbers of pupils attending publicly funded special schools within and outwith their own local authority. The information is provided in the table below.

Table 1Special Schools - September 1998Analysis of SEN pupils based in publicly funded schools within their own local authority

	SEN
Funding & Educating LA	Pupils
Aberdeen City	441
Aberdeenshire	389
Angus	0
Argyll & Bute	40
Clackmannanshire	43
Dumfries & Galloway	28
Dundee City	126
East Ayrshire	168
East Dunbartonshire	105
East Lothian	0
East Renfrewshire	29
Edinburgh, City of	738
Eilean Siar	0
Falkirk	258
Fife	235
Glasgow City	1861
Highland	165
Inverclyde	116
Midlothian	88
Moray	23
North Ayrshire	198
North Lanarkshire	657
Orkney Islands	19
Perth & Kinross	52
Renfrewshire	281
Scottish Borders	0
Shetland Islands	0
South Ayrshire	93
South Lanarkshire	492
Stirling	43
West Dunbartonshire	129
West Lothian	166
ALL	6983

Source: School Census

Table 2Special Schools - September 1998Analysis of SEN pupils based in publicly funded schools outwith their own local authority

Funding LA
	Total
Aberdeen City	3
Aberdeenshire	16
Angus	48
Argyll & Bute	20
Clackmannanshire	49
Dumfries & Galloway	13
Dundee City	5
East Ayrshire	25
East Dunbartonshire	54
East Lothian	81
East Renfrewshire	78
Edinburgh, City of	54
Eilean Siar	0
Falkirk	45
Fife	18
Glasgow City	69
Highland	2
Inverclyde	10
Midlothian	56
Moray	1
North Ayrshire	26
North Lanarkshire	125
Orkney Islands	0
Perth & Kinross	13
Renfrewshire	37
Scottish Borders	15
Shetland Islands	2
South Ayrshire	11
South Lanarkshire	192
Stirling	57
West Dunbartonshire	41
West Lothian	67
Outwith Scotland	15
ALL	1,248

Source: School Census

All pupils educated and based in non-mainstream schools are in full-time education and therefore qualify as being educated for more than one third of the week. The information requested is given in the table below.

Special Schools - September 1998

Analysis of SEN pupils attending non-mainstream schools in each local authority

	Local			All SEN
Educating LA	Authority	Grant-aided	Independent	Pupils
Aberdeen City	458		175	633
Aberdeenshire	390			390
Angus				0
Argyll & Bute	55			55
Clackmannanshire	58		28	86
Dumfries & Galloway	28		20	48
Dundee City	180		32	212
East Ayrshire	180			180
East Dunbartonshire	137			137
East Lothian				0
East Renfrewshire	43			43
Edinburgh, City of	799	199	81	1,079
Eilean Siar				0
Falkirk	325			325
Fife	242		114	356
Glasgow City	2,086	29	68	2,183
Highland	165		19	184
Inverclyde	127			127
Midlothian	176			176
Moray	23			23
North Ayrshire	206		79	285
North Lanarkshire	760	27	61	848
Orkney Islands	19			19
Perth & Kinross	53		122	175
Renfrewshire	308	59	138	505
Scottish Borders				0
Shetland Islands				0
South Ayrshire	104		26	130
South Lanarkshire	508	80		588
Stirling	62		77	139
West Dunbartonshire	171			171
West Lothian	174		41	215
ALL	7,837	394	1,081	9,312

Source: School Census

Notes:

The term 'non-mainstream schools' is taken to mean special schools ie. not primaries and secondaries

All pupils educated and based in special schools are in full-time education therefore qualify as being educated for more than one third of the weekThe answer has been prepared based on the most recent available figures i.e. as at September 1998

This information is not held centrally.

There is no requirement for NHS Trusts to take account of public funding, including Regional Selective Assistance, when considering tenders for NHS contracts from competing companies.

Where expenditure on capital projects increases the value of NHS assets this attracts capital charges.Projects put forward for capital funding are the subject of business cases, which consider all aspects of the project including the quality of service provision and the financing arrangements. This will include the affordability of the project, which will include any consequential revenue costs of which capital charges are a part.