Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has looked at EU research on the banning of snaring.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive how often the provisions of the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000 have been used following concerns raised by a family member, carer or guardian regarding the inappropriate prescribing of drugs to an adult with incapacity.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive what the value to the economy is of wildlife tourism, excluding shooting and stalking.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards have evaluated the success of policies designed to increase the uptake rate of breast screening.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive how many significant case reviews have been carried out in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to reduce the overprescribing of antipsychotic drugs to older people. (S3O-9098)
Rhona Brankin: In answer to my written question S3W-29604, the Minister for Public Health and Sport said that the Government does not collect centrally the number of older people in care homes who are prescribed antipsychotic drugs. Alzheimer Scotland says that up to 14,750 residents in care homes are prescribed such drugs and that an estimated 70 per cent are prescribed them inappropriately. Indeed, a...
Rhona Brankin: The cabinet secretary said that literacy is a first cause. The important thing for the Government to say is that literacy is its number 1 priority. As he knows, West Dunbartonshire Council achieved literacy in West Dunbartonshire without class sizes of 18. I will put the question that Des McNulty asked earlier: is literacy the minister's number 1 priority over class sizes? Class size is an...
Rhona Brankin: Will the member take an intervention?
Rhona Brankin: There has been absolutely no change in the approach. Labour supported that Conservative amendment because it was not specific. After the debate, Mr Fraser's colleague Liz Smith said specifically that it was intended to refer to a final summative assessment of literacy and numeracy in primary 7, which Labour does not support. Labour supports a system of diagnostic assessment throughout primary...
Rhona Brankin: Perhaps I can attempt to answer the member's point. My understanding is that the commission's report does not say that the problem was not recognised in the past; instead, it specifically points out that there have been many attempts to remedy the situation. In fact, millions and millions of pounds have been spent on literacy projects. The key point is that we have not made the difference...
Rhona Brankin: My belief in the importance of literacy was developed during the many years that I spent as a teacher working with youngsters who were failing to acquire basic literacy skills and my subsequent time lecturing in what was described as special educational needs. Over a number of years, I saw a significant number of youngsters come into S1 who were not functionally literate and who then had...
Rhona Brankin: I very much welcome what the minister has said about the steps that are being taken. Nevertheless, the fundamental issue remains that, until there is an understanding that we must set a benchmark that all pupils will be able to read by the end of primary school and that we must measure their achievement against that benchmark, we will not make progress. That is fundamentally different from...
Rhona Brankin: The Labour Party believes in a systematic programme of diagnostic assessment that informs the learning, that tells us the level that the pupil is at and that sets out the steps that need to be taken to reduce the barriers to learning for that pupil. That is fundamentally different from the formal testing that the Conservatives are talking about. It is different from what was done in the...
Rhona Brankin: The term "functional literacy" is central to the matter. In West Dunbartonshire the concept of functional literacy is used as a benchmark to measure progress against, but it seems to me that we are still light years away from recognising the concept of functional literacy. Does the minister recognise the term "functional literacy"? His predecessor did not.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive whether evidence exists that women living in areas of social deprivation have a lower uptake of breast screening services.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive when the safety modifications to the A68 Dalkeith bypass will be completed.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive how many residents of care homes and nursing homes are receiving antipsychotic drugs.
Rhona Brankin: To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on its review of the Scottish Qualification Authority’s accommodation in Dalkeith.
Rhona Brankin: My point related to the constant harping on about countries in the so- called arc of prosperity. Ireland, which the SNP always cites as a perfect example and where corporation tax has been immensely valuable to the economy, is now virtually a basket case.