Scottish Executive

Dentistry

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS medical professionals can make and fit dentures.

Shona Robison: Only dentists and clinical dental technicians registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) can legally make and fit dentures.

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether and, if so, by what process practising denturists can register with the General Dental Council.

Shona Robison: Denturist is not a title recognised for registration purposes by the regulatory body the General Dental Council (GDC). Dental technicians (who make dentures) and clinical dental technicians (who make and fit dentures) can register with the GDC if they hold a qualification approved by the GDC. It is a legal requirement for dental professionals to register with the GDC in order to work in the UK.

Further information on registration is available from the GDC website:

http://www.gdc-uk.org/Potential+registrant/.

Diabetes

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital emergency admissions were recorded for diabetic ketoacidosis and hypoglycaemic coma in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09, broken down by (i) age, (ii) gender, and (iii) NHS board area.

Shona Robison: The information requested is given in the following tables.

Table 1: Number of emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis (without coma) by age group, gender and NHS board of residence for financial year ending 31 March 2008 and provisional data for financial year ending 31 March 2009:

Source: SMR01, ISD Scotland.

Table 2: Number of Emergency Admissions for diabetic coma (including ketoacidotic coma, hypoglycaemic coma and other coma) by age group, gender and NHS board of residence for financial years ending 31 March 2008 and provisional data for financial year ending 31 March 2009:

Source: SMR01, ISD Scotland.

Notes

1. Data are based on information contained within SMR01 discharge records from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric NHS hospitals in Scotland.

2. The basic unit of analysis for these figures is a continuous stay in hospital. Probability matching methods have been used to link together individual SMR01 discharge episodes for each patient, thereby creating "linked" patient histories.

3. The main diagnosis of the emergency admission record has been used to identify cases of diabetic ketoacidosis and diabetic coma.

4. Diabetic ketoacidosis has been defined using ICD10 codes E101, E111, E121, E131 and E141.

5. Diabetic comas, including hypoglycaemic coma, has been defined using ICD10 codes E100, E110, E120, E130 and E140.

6. Age is based on the patient’s age on admission to hospital.

7. Data includes Scottish residents only.

Education

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in preparing the second stage strategy for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Education, taking the first action plan for the first half of the decade to the end of the decade in 2014.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what stakeholder consultation it has undertaken in the school, community and tertiary education sectors in preparing the second stage strategy for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Education and what form this consultation has taken.

Keith Brown: The second action plan for the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development will be launched in 2010. Preparation for this is well underway with stakeholder engagement taking place in a variety of ways, including:

The UN Decade Action Plan Steering Group, organised and chaired by the Sustainable Development Commission in Scotland, providing advice to the Scottish Government through discussion with stakeholders from across education and lifelong learning sectors;

A conference in January 2009, hosted by the Scottish Government and CIFAL to celebrate the excellent progress being made across all sectors in education for sustainable development, and to discuss with a wide range of stakeholders what we should aim to achieve over the next five years;

The ongoing engagement by Scottish Government policy leads in schools, universities and colleges, community learning and development and greener Scotland with stakeholders, from individual meetings to national conferences and

A forthcoming event in January 2010, to discuss the emerging key messages and actions from the draft plan with stakeholders.

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding there will be for the delivery plan for financial education in the classroom.

Keith Brown: A total of £50,000 has been allocated to support the implementation of the delivery plan for financial education. Learning and Teaching Scotland has contributed £25,000 from its existing resources and the Scottish Government has allocated a further £25,000 in this financial year.

Health

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that children requiring tinted glasses due to Meares-Irlen Syndrome do not receive support to purchase tinted glasses.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to provide financial support for families who need to purchase tinted glasses for children affected by Meares-Irlen Syndrome.

Shona Robison: Help with the cost of glasses under the NHS is by way of a voucher scheme and is limited to certain categories of people, including children under 16. However, vouchers can only be provided where the patient requires glasses to correct, remedy or relieve a defect of sight, such as short or long sight. Meares-Irlen Syndrome is just one of a range of conditions that make use of tinted lenses that are not caused by a defect of sight.

There are no current plans to change the policy on entitlement to optical vouchers.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any research that establishes a link between higher educational attainment and the use of tinted glasses among people affected by Meares-Irlen Syndrome.

Shona Robison: We are not aware of any such research. If you have information on any research which you consider my colleague Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, and I should be aware of we would be happy to look at this.

Ken Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken steps to support families who have children affected by Meares-Irlen Syndrome.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-28103 on 2 November 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 aims to ensure that all children and young people receive the additional support required to meet their individual needs and help them make the most of their education. The Act requires education authorities to identify, meet and review the additional support needs of pupils and tailor provision to their circumstances. This will be strengthened by the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 when it is commenced in autumn 2010.

The Scottish Government also funds the CALL Centre (Communications Aids for Language and Learning) which is currently working with Learning and Teaching Scotland to produce an online database of adapted curriculum material available via GLOW or SCRAN (Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network) that will enable teachers to make them available to any pupil in Scotland.

Maternity Services

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many babies were (a) born and (b) born between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm at the Vale of Leven Hospital Community Maternity Unit, in each of the last three years.

Shona Robison: The information requested is set out in the following tables.

Number of Babies Born in the Vale of Leven Hospital

Number of Babies Born Between the Hours of 9 am and 5 pm in the Vale of Leven Hospital

As in other statistics published by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), each birth is counted on the basis of the year in which it was registered, which may not be the same as the year in which it occurred.

Provisional figures for 2009 will not be available until March 2010.

Mental Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have died in psychiatric hospitals in each year since 1999 as a result of suicide and how many of those were known problem drug users.

Shona Robison: This information from 1998 to 2005, which is the most recent published, can be found in the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness: Lessons for mental health care in Scotland. This report can be viewed at:

http://www.medicine.manchester.ac.uk/psychiatry/research/suicide/prevention/nci/reports/scotlandfullreport.pdf.

Ministerial Correspondence

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its performance was in answering ministerial correspondence in the second quarter of 2009.

Bruce Crawford: In the quarter April to June 2009, 8,667 letters were received by ministers and 96% received a reply within our target of 20 working days.

Schools

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will name the secondary school in Renfrewshire that was rebuilt or substantially refurbished in 2008-09, as stated in Table 4 of the School Estate Statistics 2009, and how much was spent in direct funding on that school in 2008-09.

Fiona Hyslop: Renfrewshire Council reported Castlehead High School as being rebuilt or substantially refurbished in 2008-09, as stated in Table 4 of the School Estate Statistics 2009, with the reported value of works being £4.26 million.

Scottish Government Ministers

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what account it takes of decisions of the Parliament that are critical of the actions of ministers.

Bruce Crawford: The Scottish Government takes careful account of all decisions of the Parliament.

Suicide

Gavin Brown (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many suicides were recorded in the Lothians region in 2008, broken down by parliamentary constituency, gender and cause of death.

Shona Robison: The figures requested are as follows. East Lothian is not included, as this sits in the south of Scotland region, as per parliamentary instructions on constituencies and regions.

Deaths From Intentional Self Harm and Events of Undetermined Intent, by Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, Sex and Method of Injury

Notes:

1. Does not include East Lothian which is in the south of Scotland Region.

2. ICD10 codes X60-X69 (intentional self harm) and Y10-Y19 (events of undetermined intent).

3. ICD10 codes X70 (intentional self harm) and Y20 (events of undetermined intent).

4. ICD10 codes X71 (intentional self harm) and Y21 (events of undetermined intent).

5. ICD10 codes X72-X75 (intentional self harm) and Y22-Y25 (events of undetermined intent).

6. ICD10 codes X80 (intentional self harm) and Y30 (events of undetermined intent).

7. ICD10 codes X76-X79, X81-X84, Y87.0 (intentional self harm) and Y26-Y29, Y31-Y34, Y87.2 (events of undetermined intent).

Teachers

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its funding to local authorities to maintain teacher numbers, whether it has concerns about the reduction in teachers by over 100 in the Renfrewshire local authority area.

Keith Brown: Yes, and those concerns have been expressed to both COSLA and Renfrewshire Council. It is encouraging to note, however, that despite the reduction in teacher numbers in Renfrewshire Council schools between the 2007 census and the 2008 census, the average primary class size fell from 24.1 to 23.7 over the same period.

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of its funding to local authorities to maintain teacher numbers, whether it has concerns that the reduction in teacher numbers exceeds the proportionate fall in pupils in the Renfrewshire local authority area.

Keith Brown: Yes, and these views have been expressed to both COSLA and Renfrewshire Council but we also acknowledge that Renfrewshire have still managed to reduce their average primary class sizes in order to benefit the teaching and learning of their primary pupils.

The following questions were given holding answers:

S3W-27989

S3W-27990

S3W-27991

S3W-27996

S3W-27997

S3W-27998

S3W-27999

S3W-28000

S3W-28001

S3W-28002

S3W-28003

S3W-28004

S3W-28005

S3W-28006

S3W-28007

S3W-28008

S3W-28009

S3W-28010

S3W-28011

S3W-28018

S3W-28025

S3W-28026

S3W-28027

S3W-28028

S3W-28029