- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many research projects into causes of autism have been funded by the Chief Scientist Office and how many funding applications for such projects have been rejected by the office in the last year.
Answer
The Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive Health Department has not funded any researchproposals into the causes of autism in the recent past. No such applicationshave been rejected in the last year and one is currently under consideration.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to any public concern over maternity service reviews.
Answer
The review and planning ofmaternity services is primarily a responsibility for NHS boards.
BothA Framework for Maternity Services (2001) and the report of the ExpertGroup on Acute Maternity Services (EGAMS 2002) state that NHS boardsshould make sure that local consultation and public involvement takes place whenplanning maternity services.
I have made it clear to NHS boardsthat when considering proposals for reconfiguration I will have to be satisfiedthat they are consistent with the recommendations of these national policydocuments.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 09 January 2004
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what funding will be allocated to (a) medical research and investigation into causes of autism and (b) treatment of autism in each of the last three years.
Answer
The Chief Scientist Office, (CSO), within the Scottish Executive Health Department, has responsibility for funding and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. The CSO has allocated the following funding for research into autism in each of the last three years. This research relates to treatment and not to causes of autism.
| 2001-02 | £35,324 |
| 2002-03 | £100,994 |
| 2003-04 | £43,650 |
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to replicate across the whole of Scotland the study conducted within the education department of Highland Council on the level of incidence of autism in the council area.
Answer
The study conducted byHighland Council was for local planning purposes and the Scottish Executive has no plans to replicate it. However, we asked all NHS boards andlocal authorities in Scotland to conduct an audit of autistic spectrum disorder education,social care and health services in 2003 and an analysis of that informationwill be published in due course.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4244 by Malcolm Chisholm on 5 December 2003, whether the "agreed formula" for allocating public capital resources is adequate in light of the charitable funding of some equipment.
Answer
The Arbuthnott Formula is consideredto be an appropriate way of allocating NHSScotland capital funds as it ensures anequitable distribution of capital resources. Thereafter it is for eachNHSScotland board to decide, locally, how best to utilise these funds to meetthe health care needs of its resident population taking account of national andlocal priorities. The Arbuthnott percentages for future years will increase ordecrease to take account of population movements as the formula is revisedannually. Firm allocations for 2004-05 and 2005-06 will be calculated on thebasis of the updated percentages.
Charitable funding ofequipment or other such donations, whilst welcome, is not central to thenational budgetary calculation or financial planning arrangements for NHSScotlandboards. The level of capital resources allocated to NHSScotland boards is notand should not be dependant upon them.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what research is underway to determine the cause, or causes, of the rise in the number of children diagnosed with autism.
Answer
The National ResearchRegister (NRR), a UK-wide research database, records that there are 32 on-goingresearch projects in the UK on autism. On the more specific question of thecause or causes of the rise in diagnosis, three of the studies are looking atthe prevalence of autism but the NRR does not appear to record any on-goingprojects looking specifically at this area.
On research on autism moregenerally, eight of the 32 on-going projects recorded on the NRR are beingfunded by the Medical Research Council at a cost of over £5 million. These are aimedat understanding both the biological and psychological causes and effects ofautism.
Details of these projectsare available from the NRR, a copy of which is in the Parliament’s ReferenceCentre (Bib. number 17404).
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive how many children with autism have been medically examined in the last five years to determine common biological and physiological factors; whether such examination results are collated and, if so, where they are held.
Answer
The information requested isnot held centrally.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 09 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom McCabe on 13 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive what the reasons are for the incidence level of one in every 49 primary schoolchildren with autism or suspected autism in the Highland Council area.
Answer
The study conducted byHighland Council, which asked teachers to identify the numbers of childrenwhose support needs were associated with characteristics of autistic spectrumdisorder, cannot be regarded as clinical data on the incidence or prevalence ofautistic spectrum disorder in primary schoolchildren.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 October 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 January 2004
To ask the Scottish Executive which measures it will take to ensure that regional planning, including full consultation with the public, trade unions and other relevant groups, takes place before recommendations to rationalise maternity services are put forward by NHS boards.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-3775 on 25 November 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.
- Asked by: Carolyn Leckie, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Socialist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 December 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Malcolm Chisholm on 16 December 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-4248 by Malcolm Chisholm on 3 December 2003, whether changes to the nature of demand on the service arising from the review of maternity services in the area will include an assumption that births in transit will increase.
Answer
Included within the expectedchanges to the nature of demand on ambulance services in the area is theassumption that more expectant mothers may require to be transferred to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.Additional ante-natal assessments will be carried out to determine whichmothers should have a consultant-led delivery. The assessments are designed tominimise the incidence of late/urgent transfers. Where a late hospital transferto Paisley is indicated then the arrangements provide for a midwife to support theexpectant mother in transit.
