Parliamentary Questions
Young Disabled People
January 2010
Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it spent in 2009-10 on advertising in relation to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009.
John Swinney: Approximately £320,574 inclusive of VAT will be spent in the financial year 2009-10 on advertising in relation to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009.
The Scottish Government’s advertising spend for 2009-10 will be reconciled and published on the Scottish Government’s website in July 2010.
Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated for spending in 2010-11 on advertising in relation to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009.
John Swinney: No money has been allocated for spending in financial year 2010-11 on advertising in relation to the Education (Additional Support For Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009.
November 2008
Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Early Years Framework will support parents and enable families to maximise disabled children’s abilities in every local authority area.
Adam Ingram: The Early Years Framework has been developed jointly by the Scottish Government and COSLA and sets out the joint commitment of national and local government to improving outcomes for children and families.
The framework is based on the principles of early intervention. Key to this will be earlier identification of children and families with particular support needs, including disabled children, and provision of timely and appropriate support to meet those needs.
The framework includes a proposal to develop an indicator covering inclusion and outcomes for disabled children as part of a suite of improved local indicators. The detail of how services will be delivered locally to support improved outcomes is a matter for each individual community planning partnership under the single outcome agreement (SOA) process. The framework offers an analysis of key elements that will contribute to improved outcomes in early years that local partners can draw on in developing their SOAs.
Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans ministers have to improve support in schools for children with long-term conditions.
Maureen Watt: The Scottish Government has recently established a new working relationship with local government which will help support the education of pupils with additional support needs, including those with long-term conditions. The Scottish Government is providing local government with £34.9 billion over the next three years, an increase of 13.1% across the period. Significant controls and flexibilities have been devolved to better enable local authorities to respond to local needs and priorities.
The Scottish Government is also undertaking a number of other initiatives to help support schools to provide support and services for pupils with long-term conditions including:
Funding a National Development Officer to focus on transitions for all young people at risk of missing out on education and training opportunities.
The Scottish Teacher Education Committee Action Plan – Framework for Inclusion, a two year action plan to take forward inclusive education in initial teacher education and continuous professional development.
Following talks with the Scottish Government, the General Teaching Council for Scotland has now added five new additional support needs areas to their professional recognition framework. These cover autism, dyslexia, hearing impairment, visual impairment and dual sensory impairment.
Additionally, the Scottish Government will soon publish The Autism Toolbox, an autism resource for Scottish local authorities and schools. The toolbox will draw on a range of practice experience, literature and research to support education authorities and schools in the delivery of services and planning for children and young people with autism spectrum disorders.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring arrangements are in place to ensure that disabled students in further and higher education who want a personal learning plan have one.
Fiona Hyslop: Colleges receive block grants for teaching which are not split into funding for specific courses or assistance. For that block grant they are expected to deliver a set level of activity which is weighted to reflect the resource input required. Courses which are specifically designed for students with additional needs have the highest out of 18 weightings. In addition to this, activity for students who are not on a specialised course but who have additional support needs is also weighted to reflect the additional resource input. In 2008-09, the main teaching allocation totalled £392 million.
It is a condition of grant that any colleges claiming the additional weights that are allocated from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) must complete a Personal Learning Support Plan (PLSP). This is checked and reported on through the SFC’s audit process. The auditor also signs off the final claims for activity. The allocation of student support funds must meet the conditions of the SFC bursary policy and the use of the funds is audited.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding is provided to colleges of further and higher education for the provision of personal learning assistants.
Fiona Hyslop: There is a range of both institutional and individual financial support packages available to students studying within Scotland depending on whether the student is on a further or higher education course.
Colleges receive block grants for teaching which are not split into funding for specific courses or assistance. In 2008-09, the main teaching allocation totalled £392 million. In addition to funding for teaching the courses, colleges receive funds to support their students. This includes a bursary allocation which can be used to meet the additional support needs of students to assist them accessing and participating in college. This part of the bursary allowance is called the Additional Support Needs for Learning Allowance and is not subject to a means test. These funds can be used by the student (or on the student's behalf) to fund a personal learning assistant or to pay for assistive technology. In 2008-09, the bursary allocation totalled £58 million.
The Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) is an non income assessed allowance intended to cover the extra costs or expenses a student may have while undertaking a higher education course which arises because of their disability. In 2007-08, 3,625 students were in receipt of DSA payments totalling £8.1 million. This is an increase of 7.1% in terms of numbers and 6.7% in terms of amounts paid out since 2006-07. As part of the DSA, students can receive support from a non-medical personal helper (NMPH), for example a dyslexia specialist support worker. From academic year, 2008-09, eligible students that require the assistance of a NMPH will benefit from an increased allowance of up to £20,000.
November 2007
Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider amending the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to ensure that parents of pupils with additional support needs have the same rights as other parents to make a placing request for their children.
Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider amending the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to enable parents of children with additional support needs to make placing requests in local authority areas outwith their own.
Adam Ingram: It is the intention of the Scottish Government to ensure that parents of pupils with additional support needs have the same rights as other parents to make a placing request for their children to attend schools in other local authorities.
If necessary, we will consider amending the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 to achieve this aim.
January 2008
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has had with disability groups since May 2007 to discuss the findings in Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.
Adam Ingram: The First Minister and the Minister for Children and Early Years met with representatives of For Scotland’s Disabled Children as well as families with disabled children on 11 January 2008, to discuss a range of issues around support for families.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whom the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning has met since May 2007 to discuss the findings in Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.
Adam Ingram: Support for families with disabled children falls within the remit of the Minister for Children and Early Years. The minister has met with a range of disability groups to discuss issues around support for families.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings are planned between the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning and disability groups to discuss the findings in Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.
Adam Ingram: Following a meeting between the First Minister and the Minister for Children and Early Years and representatives of For Scotland’s Disabled Children as well as families with disabled children on 11 January 2008, further meetings are planned to discuss a range of issues around support for families.
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the timescale for the implementation of the recommendations in Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families.
Adam Ingram: Aiming High for Disabled Children: Better Support for Families was launched by HM Treasury and the then Department for Education and Skills in May 2007. The document was accompanied by the announcement of an additional £340 million of investment in services to support families with disabled children, over the Comprehensive Spending Review Period 2007-08 to 2010.
March 2008
Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it intends to implement the findings of the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland's report on the moving and handling of young disabled people.
The Minister for Children and Early Years (Adam Ingram): The Scottish Government welcomes the "Handle with Care" report from Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People and in particular its emphasis on consultation, dignity and positivity.
As with all issues and challenges faced by children and young disabled people, a coherent approach is required to moving and handling. We will develop an approach that covers practice in health, education, social work and other relevant sectors and that takes stock of the recommendations in "Handle with Care" as well as the views and feelings of children and young people and their families.
Karen Gillon: It is apparent from the report that a risk-averse culture has developed throughout Scotland, which is severely hampering the life chances and rights of children and young people, and it is clear that new and robust national guidance is needed.
Will the minister agree to establish a stakeholder working group to develop that guidance, involving professionals, parents and children and young people, to ensure that the guidance brought into place is appropriate to their needs and takes into account their wishes and aspirations so that they can enjoy the fullest possible life?
Adam Ingram: I am certainly strongly supportive of the commissioner's recommendation that blanket no-lifting policies should be abandoned by local authorities. That poor practice is about penny-pinching on training and certainly not about improving accessibility.
Engaging with children and young people is obviously important, as is involving them in solving their accessibility problems. As the member will know, appropriate legislation is in place, including the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, with its requirement for all education authorities to publish a disability equality scheme.
Guidance is also available, including "Helping Hands: Guidelines for Staff who provide Intimate Care for Children and Young People with Disabilities", which was published in 1999. We will revise that guidance in the light of the commissioner's report and follow up on other reports, such as the Audit Scotland report "Adapting to the future: Management of community equipment and adaptations" and "Equipped for Inclusion: Report of the Strategy Forum: Equipment and Adaptations".
Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): My colleague Karen Gillon mentioned the safety of the children who are involved, but workers who participated in the consultation said that they felt restricted from lifting and handling and from offering the service that they would like to offer.
How will the minister address that while ensuring the safety of children and of workers?
Adam Ingram: As I intimated, I am particularly interested in following up the commissioner's recommendations on local authority lifting policies. The guidance will focus on that.
March 2008
Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to improve the level and quality of information available for young physically disabled adults on the support services available to them.
Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government provides core funding under section 10 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 to Update, a charitable organisation which aims to improve the quality of life of disabled people by enabling information providers to offer accurate, relevant and accessible disability related information.
The government also funds the Scottish Accessible Information Forum (SAIF) to produce standards for information and advice services for disabled people. The SAIF recently published a practical guide for disabled people on the standards of services that should be provided by information, advice or service providers.
The booklet is available at: www.saifscotland.org.uk.