Schedule 10 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 lists those drugs and other substances which general practitioners may not prescribe on the NHS. Schedule 10 is known as The Selected List.Amendments to Schedule 10 are made by Statutory Instrument.The selected list was introduced in 1985 and extended in 1992 and it has been amended on a number of occasions. There have been two amendments since July 1999. NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2000 added Propecia to the list. The NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 removed nicotine replacement therapies from the list. Corresponding amendments were made to Schedule 10 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 in England.

Consultation with carers about service planning and delivery is expected of all local authorities. The Carers Strategy made clear the importance which the Executive places on the inclusion of carers' views and expertise in the development of community care plans and services. Each local authority will wish to develop its own links with carers in its area. We plan to issue wide-ranging good practice guidance on supporting carers to local authorities and NHS bodies, which will remind local authorities and the NHS of the importance of involving carers in planning services. Carers' organisations and statutory agencies will have a lead role in developing this guidance, which we propose should include some monitoring component.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27294.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-27294.

Homeopathy treatment is provided in out-patient clinics or in general practice. Information on waiting times for homeopathy is available centrally only for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant following referral by a General Medical Practitioner.The median waiting time for a first out-patient appointment with a consultant in homeopathy, following referral by a General Medical Practitioner, in the year ending 31 December 2001, by NHS board of residence, is given in the table.NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for a First Out-patient Appointment with a Consultant in Homeopathy, Following Referral by a General Medical Practitioner, by NHS Board of Residence. Year Ended 31 December 2001^P.

NHS Board	Median Wait
Argyll and Clyde	350 days
Ayrshire and Arran	362 days
Borders	138 days
Dumfries and Galloway	337 days
Fife	154 days
Forth Valley	344 days
Grampian	111 days
Greater Glasgow	369 days
Highland	55 days
Lanarkshire	330 days
Lothian	103 days
Orkney	452 days
Shetland	384 days
Tayside	155 days
Western Isles	314 days
SCOTLAND	244 days

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR00.Notes:^PProvisional

All student nurses are provided with free uniforms.Occupational health assessments are carried out free of charge by the seven higher education institutions contracted to the Scottish Executive Health Department to provide pre-registration nursing education. However, the four non-contracted higher education institutions who provide nurse education have varying arrangements in place.

The increase in intakes for student nursing arose from the recommendation of the Student Nurse Intake Planning process. This informs assessment of the numbers of higher education places needed each year for pre-registration nursing and midwifery students. Pre-registration training is provided through nurse education contracts directly funded by the Scottish Executive Health Department. The seven higher education institutions which operate these contracts were asked to bid for an additional 250 student places in 2002-03.

Expenditure on the seven pre-registration nursing education contracts in the last five years and the number of students in training is as follows.

	1997-98	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01	2001-02
Contracts(£ million)	31.3	33.5	34.2	35.8	40.2
Students in training	6,369	6,568	6,849	7,633	8,083

Under the terms of the contract between the Scottish Executive Health Department and the individual higher education institutions (HEIs) that provide nurse education in Scotland, details of the range of costs of nurse training per trainee nurse are a matter between the department and the individual HEI.

HM Customs and Excise work with Scottish police forces, the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Criminal Intelligence Service to provide a co-ordinated partnership approach to tackling drug trafficking in Scotland.HM Customs' staffing levels at small ports and airports are entirely an operational matter for that organisation. I understand that the police do not consider that these staffing levels adversely affect their ability to combat drug misuse across Scotland.

I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-26897.