The provision of police surgeons to attend to victims of crime is an operational matter for chief constables.

Treatment will divide between the physical, which will vary from case to case and the psychological which will involve engaging the patient with exploring and addressing the root cause of their self harm actions.We have already issued guidance to the care agencies on the organisation of psychological intervention services which are designed around talking treatments that encourage self help as part of the treatment and support options. The guidance is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23704).

The regulation and control of medicines is reserved.The Medicines Control Agency has advised that the only vaccines in the routine UK childhood immunisation programme which contain thiomersal as an excipient in the final product are diphtheria, tetanus, wholecell pertussis (DTwP) and diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.In September 2001, the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) reviewed the available data relating to possible neurotoxicity of thiomersal in vaccines and advised that there is no evidence of harm caused by doses of thiomersal in vaccines, except for hypersensitivity reactions. The CSM concluded that the risk:benefit balance of thiomersal-containing vaccines remains overwhelmingly positive.Information about thiomersal in vaccines was provided in a letter issued to NHSScotland in November 2001 from the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Nursing Officer and the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23701).

It is for NHS boards and local authorities to arrange appropriate support and services, having assessed the needs of their areas. The Framework for the Reduction of Suicide, which will be issued later this year, will provide advice to local agencies in developing responsive services.

The NCH report, which recognises that self-harm is often a way of coping with depression and emotional distress, is a helpful contribution to the Executive's drive to improve the well-being of young people in Scotland, and its findings will be taken into account in policy development. Of particular importance is the report's emphasis on the involvement of service users in formulating policy, an approach with the Executive endorses and is increasingly adopting.

In selecting new members for the board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), we seek to produce a balance of backgrounds and experience to bring together a board which covers all aspects of the agency's work and the various groups it deals with. While the appointments process is based on assessing skills and experience of candidates, the Executive recognises the importance of achieving balanced representation from across Scotland. Three previous members of the SEPA Board were based in the Highlands and Islands and I hope that suitable candidates from the area will emerge from current and future rounds of appointments.As well as the main board, SEPA also has a network of three regional boards; the North and West Region Boards include representatives from the Highlands and Islands.

The information sought is not held in the form requested. Information derived from the Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR) system operated by the Information and Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency estimates that approximately 16,500 individuals were seen by general practitioners in respect of rheumatoid arthritis in Scotland in the year ending December 2001. This figure is based on the activity of 60 Scottish General Practices for the year ending December 2001, with a combined population of 370,605. It is not possible to break it down by NHS trust area or to determine the degree to which individuals are affected by the condition.

It is not possible to monitor the use of Levonelle from data collected centrally. These data relate to numbers and costs of prescribed items dispensed in the community and are not patient-specific. Guidance on the use of Levonelle is available to prescribers from a number of sources including the British National Formulary and the manufacturer's product literature. The prescribing of Levonelle is a matter for the clinical judgement of the health practitioner concerned, in consultation with the patient and informed by advice and evidence about its use.

Prescription of drugs to individual patients is a matter for the professional judgement of the clinicians involved. The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) has recently recommended Etanercept and Infliximab for use in certain circumstances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. I have made it clear that I expect NHSScotland to take account of advice and evidence from the HTBS and to ensure that recommended drugs or treatments are made available to meet clinical need. I have also said that any evidence which suggested that this was not happening would be followed up proactively.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:Retoxification of opiate addicts prior to release occurs only in a very small number of prisoners who have lost their tolerance to opiates while in custody and who, despite our best efforts, are intent on reverting to their old pattern of drug misuse upon liberation. This group are at risk of overdose and possibly drug-related death, and in many cases, have overdosed previously.No formal studies of retoxification have been undertaken.