Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government Consulted extensively with retailers and retail interest groups on proposals in Scotland''s Future is Smoke Free: A Smoking Prevention Action Plan:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/05/19144342/0/.

The following table provides a breakdown of meetings held to discuss proposals:

Organisation	Number of  Meetings
The Scottish Grocers'' Federation (represents 350 retailers across Scotland with over 900 stores)	5*
The National Federation of Retail Newsagents (represents some 1,600 retailers)	3
The Scottish Retail Consortium (represents 75% of the retail market)	3*
Scottish Wholesale Association	2
The Independent Scottish Specialist Tobacconists'' Association	1
Tobacco Retailers Alliance (represents 25,000 retailers across the UK)	1
Sinclair Collis (vending machine operator)	1
Visits to tobacco retailers	2
Meetings with individual tobacco retailer	1
Scottish Licensed Trade Association	1*

Note: *Includes the Scottish Ministerial Working Group on Tobacco Control meeting in November 2008.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the uptake of self-directed support (SDS) as a way of giving those receiving social care choice, flexibility and control over the services they receive. We are funding three test sites (Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Highland Councils) to consider three specific interventions (bridging finance, leadership and training, and cutting red tape). Legislation already allows the inclusion of health money in a SDS package in Scotland. This enables long-term conditions to be managed holistically. Evidence suggests that there can be distinct advantages for service users receiving care in this way.

The personalisation of health care is central to our approach to enabling people to live well with long-term conditions. Aside from funding work with NHS Lothian to consider how health money can be used more routinely in SDS packages, we will of course be interested in the outcomes from the UK Government pilots.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Data is only currently available until 2007. The most recent data on positive diagnosis show that in 2006 there were 17,926 diagnoses of genital chlamydia, compared with 17,928 in 2007.

There has therefore been no significant change in the number of positive diagnosis since 2006.

The Scottish Government has published sexual health outcomes for 2008-11. One of these outcomes, being led by NHS boards and local authorities, is the provision of young people''s drop-in services in or near every school in Scotland offering general health advice, Chlamydia testing, pregnancy testing and condoms.

The recent Quality Improvement Scotland Standard on sexual health and young people sets out a target to increase chlamydia testing in under 25s. This includes a specific target to increase the number of young men being offered a test. Every young person who visits a sexual health service is asked if they have put themselves at risk and, if so, offered a test.

In addition, health boards are responsible for putting in place a range of measures which will reach young people in their local area and many are taking innovative approaches to reach young men, such as postal testing kits which can be given directly to young men or to a young woman to pass on to her partner.

Human Reproduction and The Lancet medical journals published Swedish research in spring 2008 which stated that there is a robust and independent association between failure to conceive and chlamydia antibodies in men, independent of semen quality.

The Scottish Government has been advised however that while chlamydia infection can reduce male fertility, further research is required to determine the actual effect on fertility, as this is not clear.

We know that men are less likely to access health services generally. Recent NHS Quality Improvement Scotland Standards on Sexual Health set out a target to increase chlamydia testing in those under 25, and contain a specific target to increase the number of young men being offered a test.

Health boards are responsible for putting in place a range of measures which will reach young people in their local area and many are taking innovative approaches to reach young men.

The available information is given in the following table (2007 is the year for which the latest data is available):

Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Tests and Proportion of Population by Gender and Age Group

Gender	Age Group	2006	2006	2007	2,007
		Numbers	Proportion of Population* (%)	Numbers	Proportion of Population** (%)
Male	15-24	22,203	6.50	23,865	6.90
	25-49	27,401	3.10	28,955	3.30
	50+	2,583	0.60	2,783	0.60
	Total***	52,187	3.10	55,603	3.30
Female	15-24	78,634	24	80,509	24.30
	25-49	90,288	9.80	90,160	9.80
	50+	7,320	1.50	4,333	0.90
	Total ***	176,242	10.10	175,002	10
Total1,2	15-24	100,837	15.10	104,374	15.40
	25-49	117,689	6.60	119,115	6.60
	50+	9,903	1	7,116	0.70
	Total ***	228,429	6.70	230,605	6.70

Source: Health Protection Scotland - February 2009.

Notes:

The total number of tests collected from the laboratories contains some equivocal, unconfirmed or indeterminate results (approx 1.3% of tests) as well as some duplicate tests for the same individual (approx 5-20%).

1.Excludes cases where gender is not known.

2. Totals do not include the number of tests performed in those <15.

*Population denominator based on the GROS mid-year population data for 2006 for those aged 15-64.

**Population denominator based on the GROS mid-year population data for 2007 for those aged 15-64.

***Includes age not known.

Chlamydia tests undertaken by the NHS are processed by NHS laboratories with statistics on the number of tests and positive diagnoses collated and analysed by Health Protection Scotland. Chlamydia tests which are undertaken as part of the community pharmacy contract will feed into this process and be monitored in the same way.

The available information is given in the following tables (2007 is the year for which the latest data is available):

Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Diagnoses by Gender and Age Group

Gender	Age Group	2006	2007
Male	15-24	3,927	3,970
	25-49	2,363	2,505
	50+	60	85
	Total*	6,374	6,582
Female	15-24	8,892	8,655
	25-49	2,436	2,365
	50+	22	27
	Total*	11,374	11,065
Total1	15-24	12,819	12,625
	25-49	4,799	4,870
	50+	82	112
	Total*	17,748	17,647

Source: Health Protection Scotland - February 2009.

Notes:

1.Excludes cases where gender is not known.

*Includes age not known.

Genital Chlamydia Infection, Scotland 2006 and 2007; Laboratory Diagnoses by NHS Board of Report

NHS Board	2006	2007
Ayrshire and Arran	891	1,133
Borders	230	262
Dumfries and Galloway	598	567
Fife	1,198	1,211
Forth Valley	916	887
Grampian	1,781	1,805
Greater Glasgow and Clyde	4,766	4,763
Highland	711	743
Lanarkshire	1,534	1,597
Lothian	3,414	3,137
Orkney	38	50
Shetland	37	23
Tayside	1,790	1,743
Western Isles	22	7
Total	17,926	17,928

Source: Health Protection Scotland - February 2009.

NHS boards, through their Health Promotion Departments, undertake local targeted work on the risks of contracting sexually transmitted infections and on the importance of testing and treatment.

In addition the government is in the process of developing a national social marketing campaign which will aim to raise awareness and create a conversation on sexual health generally. This campaign, which will begin in summer 2009, will be supported by a national website and written information encouraging those who may have put themselves at risk of a sexually transmitted infection to be tested.