Under the Education(Additional Support for Learning)(Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities havea duty to identify, provide for and keep under review the additional support needsof each pupil for whose education they are responsible. This should ensure thatdyslexia is identified as early possible.

Significant funding is provided to education authoritiesto support the education of children with additional support needs including dyslexia.In 2007-08, this includes, £61.7 million for implementation of the Education (AdditionalSupport for Learning ) (Scotland) Act 2004, the inclusion of pupils with additionalsupport needs in mainstream schools, the training and development of school staffworking with pupils with additional support needs and accessibility to educationfor pupils with disabilities.

In addition, HM Inspectorateof Education is undertaking a specific evaluation of dyslexia over the period2007-08, which will provide a clear picture of identification, provision and practiceacross Scotland.

The Scottish AgriculturalWages Board normally reviews the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order on an annual basis. The next Order (Number 55) is due to come intoforce on 1 October 2007.

The number of workers employed in agriculture covered by the Orders made by the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board is 24,924. This is made up of 13,500 full-time and 11,424 part-time and seasonal workers. (Economic Report On Scottish Agriculture-2007 Edition)

Information on the numbers of workers employed in horticulture and forestry who are covered by these Wages Orders is not held centrally.

 

The following is the original answer (published on 27 August 2007); see below.

 

The number of workers covered by the orders made by the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board is 67,011. This is made up of 26,097 full-time and 40,914 part-time and seasonal workers (June 2006 census).

 

The Scottish DiabetesSurvey draws on data from primary and secondary care and currently represents themost comprehensive source of information on diabetes at Scotland level. The most recent report (2005) includes informationon the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, nationally and at NHS board level.The report is available at:http://www.diabetesinscotland.org/diabetes/MaintainPages/pdfFiles/SDS2005.pdf.The Scottish PublicHealth Observatory (ScotPHO) website provides links to international sources ofinformation on diabetes, most commonly prevalence. Note however that variationsin the source of data and completeness of recording make these comparisons unreliable.These links can be accessed at http://www.scotpho.org.uk/web/site/home/Healthwell-beinganddisease/Diabetes/diabetes_usefullinks.asp.

International comparisonsof diabetes prevalence have been usefully reviewed by Wild et al (Wild S, Roglic G, Green A, Sicree R, King H. Global prevalenceof diabetes: estimates for the year 2000 and projections for 2030. Diabetes Care2004; 27:1047-53).

Information on theprevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is available at NHS board level from theannual Scottish Diabetes Survey. The Survey, which was first published in 2001,includes data from primary and secondary care and is currently the most comprehensivesource of information on diabetes in Scotland. The most recentreport (for 2005) is available at:http://www.diabetesinscotland.org/diabetes/MaintainPages/pdfFiles/SDS2005.pdf.

The Scottish PublicHealth Observatory (ScotPHO) website (www.scotpho.org.uk)provides a guide to further sources of information on diabetes in Scotland (under the Health, Wellbeing and Disease tab).

Because of definitionaldifficulties, no routine figures are prepared on smoking-related deaths. However,research studies have estimated that each year more than 13,000 people in Scotland die from smoking related diseases, including lung cancer, coronary heartdisease and stroke.The Atlas of Tobacco Smoking inScotland was published in July 2007 and drawn to the attention of all MSPs. It presents smokingprevalence estimates for NHS boards, councils, community health partnerships (CHPs)and Scottish parliamentary constituencies, and also for intermediate zones and postcodesectors. It also includes estimates of smoking-attributable deaths for individualNHS boards and CHPs. Thefull report can be viewed at: www.scotpho.org.uk/tobaccoatlas.

This study was basedon methodology developed for the report Mortality from smoking in developed countries1950-2002, which was published in June 2006 and included a section on Scotland.

http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco/.

http://www.ctsu.ox.ac.uk/~tobacco/scot.pdf.

Previous studies haveexamined deaths from conditions associated with exposure to tobacco smoke, but definitionsand methodologies vary. Please see the ASH Scotland website for information about these estimates http://www.ashscotland.org.uk/ash/3549.html.

Studies have alsoestimated the number of deaths from passive smoking. For example, please see thefollowing link for details of the estimates produced by one such study:

http://www.healthscotland.com/documents/448.aspx.

There are no plansto develop the Allandale rail station.

The STAG appraisal,submitted to Transport Scotland by consultants acting on behalf of FalkirkCouncil early in 2006, concluded that the development of an alternative park andride facility at Bannockburn would provide better value for money. It wasagreed in October 2006 that Bannockburn should be taken forward to a Design andAppraisal stage and that no furtherwork should be undertaken on Allandale.

I have asked MikeEwart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

Reception figures(2004) show that two out of three prisoners (66%) tested positive for all substancesof misuse on admission to prison.

Self-reported figuresfrom the SPS Prisoner Survey (2006) show that 23% of prisoners were worried thatalcohol would be a problem on release from prison, with 29% of prisoners reportingusing illegal drugs in the month immediately prior to survey completion.

Robust estimates of the size of Scottish drugs markets are not currently available. A research projectis currently in progress which is aiming to produce an initial estimate of the size/valueof illicit drug markets in Scotland, and of the economic and social costs associatedwith illicit drug use. This research is due to be completed in March 2008.

Transport Scotland is currently reviewing fare policy objectives. Evidenceis being gathered to inform this review and research into the effect of rail farepricing on passenger numbers is likely to be included in this work.