There are no plans to introducea convention of this sort.

Details of the number of interceptionwarrants issued by the Scottish ministers are contained in the annual reports of the Interception ofCommunications Commissioner. The most recentreport – Bib. number 37809, document number SE/2005/203 – was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 3 November 2005.

It is not in the public interestto give details relating to interception warrants beyond the figures reported bythe commissioner. To do so could potentially damage the effectiveness of what is an important part of our ability to tackle seriousand organised crime.

The use of Interception as aninvestigative technique is governed by strict safeguards within the Regulation ofInvestigatory Powers Act 2000. The commissioner has stated in successive annualreports Scottish ministers take considerable care to satisfy themselves that warrantsare necessary and proportionate for the authorised purposes – preventing and detectingserious crime.

The Executive already hassome, limited, powers to support individual post office businesses. Anamendment to the Scotland Act makes an exception to the reserved status ofpostal services for “financial assistance for the provision of services (otherthan postal services and services relating to money or postal orders) to beprovided from public post offices.” Communities Scotland has used thisprovision to enhance Government assistance to post offices through a £2 millioncapital grants scheme and recently-announced business improvement trainingopportunities for post offices in deprived areas. Any extension of thesepowers, through primary legislation or an order under the Scotland Act, wouldrequire the approval of both the Scottish and the UK Parliament.

The Scottish Executive EducationDepartment provided funding of £3 million per year for the last two years to NHSboards to meet their obligations under the Education (Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004. These resources are being used in a variety of ways, includingthe recruitment of speech and language therapists and other professionals to workwith autistic children in schools.

 

Health Boards	Total Funding
	1999-2000 (£)	2000-01 (£)	2001-02 (£)	2002-03 (£)	2003-04 (£)	2004-05 (£)	2005-06 (£)
Argyll and Clyde	1,543	3,348	3,515	3,620	3,761	4,183	4,434
Ayrshire and Arran	943	3,104	3,255	3,353	3,483	3,874	4,106
Borders	30,515	24,870	40,561	41,778	43,400	52,814	55,983
Dumfries and Galloway	1,886	800	1,111	1,144	1,189	1,322	1,402
Fife	75,601	57,000	59,850	61,646	64,040	96,225	101,999
Forth Valley	37,801	47,293	50,407	51,919	53,935	62,118	65,845
Grampian	943	58,164	88,000	90,640	*	*	*
Greater Glasgow	2,914	8,000	10,160	10,465	10,871	12,091	12,816
Highland	1,371	5,872	6,166	6,351	6,598	7,338	7,779
Lanarkshire	9,429	10,126	10,632	10,951	11,376	14,783	15,670
Lothian	182,918	172,420	266,744	274,746	285,416	317,440	336,486
Orkney	771	779	877	1,143	1,062	1,334	1,414
Shetland	4,029	225	237	244	254	2,413	2,558
Tayside	54,515	62,000	65,100	67,053	69,657	91,274	96,740
Western Isles	86	459	482	496	516	574	608
Cumbria**	171	173	195	254	236	263	278
Northumberland**	600	606	682	889	826	1,038	1,100
Northern Ireland**	771	779	877	1,143	1,062	1,334	1,414
Totals	406,807	456,018	608,851	627,835	557,682	670,418	710,632

Notes:

*Local provision since 2003-04.

**Because of limited facilitiesin Cumbria, Northumberland and Northern Ireland for people with sleep disorders, patients who requirea “second opinion” (or the provision of a CPAP machine) in the view of the consultant,or need to be assessed by undergoing a sleep study which involves overnight staysare referred to the Edinburgh Sleep Centre at the RIE.

The Scottish Executive has beenmaking project grant awards to individual voluntary sector organisations in respectof additional support needs since April 1999. The awards specifically related toautism spectrum disorders have totalled over  £1.5 million and are made on the basisof a two or three year cycle.

In addition, the Executive provideda total of £3 million in 2004-05 and in 2005-06 to the Health Boards to assist themto prepare for and to support the implementation of the Education (Additional Supportfor Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. This funding could be used in a variety of ways,such as to provide additional allied health professionals to support children andyoung people with additional support needs, including autism spectrum disorders.

This information is not heldcentrally.

The Scottish Executiveprovides significant funding each year to help local authorities make provisionfor children and young people with additional support needs, including autismspectrum disorder. Funding is allocated on the basis of each authority’s two to19-year-old population. It is a matter for local authorities to decide how toutilise this funding in the light of local needs and circumstances.

The information requested inrelation to estimates carried out by local authorities and NHS boards is notheld by the Scottish Executive.

The information requested isnot held centrally.

Up to and including 2001,information was only collected on those pupils with records of needs. Manypupils with high functioning autism and Asperger Syndrome would not have metthe criteria for records of needs but would have Individualised EducationalProgrammes (IEPs). The increase in 2002 onwards is, therefore, partlyattributable to pupils with IEPs being included in the statistical collection.

The Executive is not awareof any peer-reviewed evidence that the prevalence of autistic spectrumdisorders (ASD) has actually increased. The causes, nature and development ofASD are not fully understood but the general consensus is that ASD are aheterogeneous group of disorders resulting from a number of different causes,including a strong genetic factor. Diagnostic boundaries have been broadenedand awareness has increased dramatically over the past 20 years leading to morecases being detected and correctly diagnosed.