To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-32920 by Malcolm Chisholm on 14 January 2003, whether it has any plans to collate information on the percentage of children in private residential care homes that have been prescribed Ritalin and similar class drugs.

The Executive has no plans to collate information on the percentage of children in private residential care homes that have been prescribed Ritalin and similar class drugs.

The decision on whether or not to prescribe a drug for a patient is always a matter for the clinical judgement of the patient’s doctor, informed by advice and guidance about the drug.

The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission) in regulating services against the legislative requirements and the relevant national care standards requires providers of care homes for children (independent and local authority), to keep accurate up-to-date records of all medicines for the use of service users. These records are kept on the premises from which the care service is provided.