§ Mr. Tom Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will publish in the Official Report the information available to him on the numbers of children under the age of 16 years in each local authority in Scotland who are disabled persons to whom section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 applies;
(2) if he will publish in the Official Report the information available to him on the numbers of children with records of their special educational needs in each education authority in Scotland; and what is his estimate, in each case, of the percentage of these children who are disabled persons to whom section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 applies.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe following table shows the latest available information of the numbers of children recorded as having special educational needs in each education authority as at 31 December 1985.
Numbers of recorded pupils as at 31 December 1985 Education Authority Number Borders 131 Central 107 Dumfries and Galloway 66 Fife 124 Grampian 248 Highland 150 Lothian 244 Strathclyde 1,897 Tayside 89 Orkney 7 Shetland 7 Western Isles 25 TOTAL 3,095 While local authorities have a duty under the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 to inform themselves of the numbers of chronically sick and disabled persons within their areas, they are not required to keep registers for the purpose. Information about the number of disabled children to whom section 12 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 applies is not held centrally.