Chamber and committees

No specific recommendations are made in the published guidance. The aim is to provide agencies with a workable planning and audit tool to use in assessing the level and type of provision appropriate for their area.A view on local progress made with eating disorder services and support is offered in the published overall assessments provided with each Mental Health and Well Being Support Group area reports.

Information from a sample of general practices, selected as representative of Scotland as a whole, provides national estimates of patients seen by GPs. Using information from this national sample, the following table shows the estimated number of patients seen by a GP and recorded with an eating disorder diagnosis during the year specified, for Scotland. A health board breakdown is not available. Note that, in some cases, the same patient may be recorded in more than one year. Also note that, because the information is derived from a sample, caution is advised in interpreting trends across years.Estimated Number of Patients, with an Eating Disorder Diagnosis, seen by GPs in Scotland, 1999-2001¹, by Age Group and by Gender

	1999 2	2000 3	2001 4
Total	3,400	3,850	3,750
by Age Group
0-14 years	775	725	525
15-24 years	1,025	1,200	1,150
25-44 years	1,300	1,575	1,450
45-64 years	175	175	275
65 and over	125	175	350
by Gender
Males	650	450	450
Females	2,750	3,400	3,300

Source: Continuous Morbidity Recording (CMR), ISD Scotland.Notes:1. Patients seen more than once in the same year will only be counted once for that year. Patients could be counted once in each different year.2. Based on 51 practices, population 288,433, January 1999 to December 1999.3. Based on 55 practices, population 348,257, January 2000 to December 2000.4. Based on 60 practices, population 370,605, January 2001 to December 2001.

National information on NHS beds is primarily held at Consultant Specialty level, and does not provide the detail requested.

In terms of national initiatives, we have published guidance on the best organisation of eating disorder services, including specifically services and support for those with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.Wider national initiatives on mental health will also have an impact on awareness and investment in services, including not least the current and promised £4 million to promote positive mental health and well-being.

The information held centrally is not detailed enough to identify all the costs in the treatment of schizophrenia.

The published Clinical Standards Board for Scotland audit tool includes provisions to cover the very important user dimension. Further, £196,000 has been invested in the Scottish Schizophrenia Outcomes Study by the Clinical Resource and Audit Group. That study, involving all NHS Primary Care Trusts, will run until 2004 and includes the collection of user centred data for people with schizophrenia.

The prime responsibility for ensuring that guidelines are implemented and complied with rests with NHSScotland.The Clinical Standards Board for Scotland (CSBS) has developed a set of standards for schizophrenia, which includes two relating to the prescription of anti-psychotic medications. The board consulted users of the service, considered all relevant guidance and conducted an extensive review of the research literature when developing these standards. Subsequently, checks for compliance are made by the CSBS during its programme of visits.

The revision of Circular 2/98 Guidance On Issues Concerning Exclusion From School has been through an initial consultation process. Following further consultation, the final version will be issued at the beginning of the new academic year 2002-03. A copy will be placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre.

Alternatives to exclusion funding since 1999 is as follows:

Authority	1999-2000(£)	2000-01(£)	2001-02(£)
Aberdeen City	175,032	277,553	350,065
Aberdeenshire	251,052	401,924	502,104
Angus	113,126	183,006	226,250
Argyll and Bute	93,133	149,666	186,266
Clackmannanshire	48,331	77,638	96,663
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar	38,354	61,357	76,709
Dumfries and Galloway	156,778	252,193	313,557
Dundee City	137,800	218,133	275,600
East Ayrshire	126,487	200,437	252,974
East Dunbartonshire	128,262	206,015	256,523
East Lothian	84,089	137,321	168,179
East Renfrewshire	104,126	168,714	208,252
Edinburgh, City of	319,854	515,407	639,709
Falkirk	136,925	220,012	273,851
Fife	352,406	565,108	704,812
Glasgow City	487,950	777,872	975,901
Highland	235,564	378,371	471,128
Inverclyde	88,180	139,826	176,359
Midlothian	84,826	136,930	169,652
Moray	91,981	146,811	183,962
North Ayrshire	142,794	227,563	285,587
North Lanarkshire	347,659	552,573	695,317
Orkney Islands	26,971	42,996	53,943
Perth and Kinross	125,326	200,447	250,651
Renfrewshire	179,703	287,748	359,406
Scottish Borders	107,029	171,473	214,058
Shetland Islands	32,148	51,735	64,295
South Ayrshire	116,706	185,414	233,411
South Lanarkshire	314,836	501,845	629,672
Stirling	85,016	136,776	170,032
West Dunbartonshire	103,451	164,554	206,901
West Lothian	164,105	262,582	328,211
Totals	5,000,000	8,000,000	10,000,000

Notes:(a) Local authorities can utilise the allocated funding according to their own discretion, providing funds are used in accordance with the intended purpose of the award, in this case in relation to alternatives to exclusion. The Scottish Executive does not hold detailed information on specific projects.(b) Funding is provided on an annual basis.

All of the recommendations of the Discipline Task Group Report were accepted. A timetable for implementation was published in December 2001 in the Joint Action Plan agreed with the COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education and the Association of Directors of Social Work. Recommendations 1, 5, 35 and 36 have been implemented in full by the Scottish Executive. Implementation of the remaining recommendations is in hand.The Executive will be contacting local authorities in June 2002 to request information on the progress of those recommendations to be implemented by local authorities and schools.