Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer given to S1W-15237.

Sufficient stocks of reusable instruments are available but, with the reported risk of surgical transmission of vCJD, ENT surgeons decided to wait until supplies of single-use equipment are more readily available unless, in their professional judgement, the delay presented a significantly high degree of patient risk.A contract for the future provision of single-use tonsillectomy instruments was placed for all UK Health Departments at the end of April. It followed a competitive tendering exercise that included extensive field testing of equipment by ENT specialists across the UK. The suppliers will be Rocialle Medical and Trust Sterile Services. Supplies will come on stream this month and will rise progressively to meet the projected level of monthly demand by July.Scottish Healthcare Supplies have led for Scottish procurement interests, and are currently working with the suppliers and Scottish Trusts to secure an appropriate and timeous distribution of initial supplies.

The information requested is not available centrally. Information on the number of patients waiting for inpatient and day case treatment is collected at specialty level only.

On 11 April, I announced the allocation of £15.1 million to take forward inclusiveness projects to improve assessment and tracking, and to develop keyworker support for some of Scotland's most disadvantaged young people. 16 inclusiveness projects will be up and running by the end of the year, with the first eight projects expected to start in June 2001.The multi-agency projects, co-ordinated by careers service companies, will respond to the needs of a wide range of young people and may include young people with Asperger's syndrome.

The Scottish Society for Autism runs two projects a) the Social Inclusion Partnership Project - a pro-active service to address difficulties causing school exclusion and family breakdown and b) Video Interaction Positively - use of video technology to promote positive interaction between parent and child (concluded March 2001).The National Autistic Society also operates two projects a) Developing Social Skills and Understanding - an interactive programme to enhance social skills and to produce a training pack for local authorities to develop good practice and b) Accreditation Scotland - to improve practice and standards in schools in relation to autism.The Parent to Parent Tayside initiative, Promoting Good Practice for Parents (autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia) Project, is piloting partnerships between parents, voluntary organisations, local authorities and health boards.The Scottish Society for Autism, in partnership with the Highlands and Islands Autism Group - Caithness Branch, is providing outreach and advice services in a rural area through the Co-ordination of Services for Children with Autism, Dyslexia and Dyspraxia Project.

It is not possible to give a date at this stage. Priority is being given to completion of the independent financial assessment of the review. Unfortunately this exercise is taking longer than originally hoped but the issues are complex and such a crucial issue as the future of the Scottish Prison Service estate should not be rushed.

Local authorities have a duty to provide advice, guidance and assistance on request within 12 months of a person's release from custody. This includes those released following an appeal against conviction and/or sentence.Any person who considers that he or she has been wrongly convicted of an offence can apply to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission. The Commission was established to consider cases where it is alleged that a miscarriage of justice has occurred and to refer appropriate cases to the High Court for determination. Cases may be referred by the Commission whether the applicant is prison or has been released.Compensation will be paid in cases where a conviction is quashed as a result of a new or newly discovered fact.

All the 17 careers service companies in Scotland were asked to co-ordinate multi-agency bids for inclusiveness projects to improve transition from school to further education, training and employment for Scotland's most vulnerable young people.The additional resources of £15.1 millon will underpin key worker support, improved assessment and tracking for young people who face a wide range of barriers. This could include young people with Asperger's Syndrome.

The information is not available in entirety in the form requested. What is available is set out in the following tables. Neither a mumps and rubella combined vaccination nor single antigen mumps vaccine has been offered by the NHS in Scotland. In response to a measles outbreak in Scotland, there was a schools-based campaign providing measles and rubella combined vaccination in 1994-95 and it was estimated that 90.4% of the target population were vaccinated at that time.No information has been collected centrally on single vaccinations that may have been provided by general practitioners privately, using imported vaccines.Information is available by health board only in regard to MMR from 1995.

Table 1 (Numbers of children receiving MMR by 24 months of age in Scotland from 1989 to 2000 and by health board from 1995 to 2000):

	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Scotland	191,027	116,206	80,073	67,185	68,868	59,222

 

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Scotland	58,612	55,634	55,781	54,813	54,100	53,620
Health Board	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Argyll & Clyde	4,932	4,581	4,762	4,652	4,498	4,502
Ayrshire & Arran	4,225	3,902	3,683	3,851	3,803	3,760
Borders	1,030	1,094	1,084	1,093	1,026	1,030
Dumfries & Galloway	1,618	1,566	1,554	1,536	1,483	1,515
Fife	4,020	3,677	3,775	3,615	3,599	3,592
Forth Valley	3,184	3,040	3,113	2,927	3,050	3,049
Grampian	6,167	6,208	6,075	5,688	5,587	5,630
Greater Glasgow	10,529	9,818	9,818	9,792	9,474	9,356
Highland	2,276	2,191	2,191	2,172	2,064	2,131
Lanarkshire	6,691	6,383	6,448	6,287	6,288	6,193
Lothian	8,744	8,414	8,461	8,387	8,429	8,186
Orkney	242	229	231	219	215	203
Shetland	293	309	298	272	256	254
Tayside	4,396	3,938	4,012	4,030	4,074	3,991
Western Isles	265	284	276	292	254	228

Table 2 (Numbers of children receiving measles vaccine from 1979 to 1988 in Scotland)

	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
Scotland	36,718	39,560	41,429	43,610	45,370	55,934	53,727	53,757	61,312	77,725

Table 3 (Numbers of girls receiving rubella vaccine through the schools programme in Scotland from 1979 to 1994)

	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
Scotland	42,548	37,301	35,930	34,974	35,040	35,523	32,142	29,071

	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994
Scotland	27404	25,575	24,292	20,750	20,883	20,731	21,289	18,626

The regulation and safety of medicines is a reserved matter. The Medicines Control Agency has advised that no proceedings are pending. The Executive holds no information about any such proceedings involving the General Medical Council.