The cost of the programme is £31 million over the three years to 2001-02.The Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) has recently implemented an enhanced surveillance programme, in liaison with the Scottish Meningococcal and Pneumococcal Reference Laboratory (Stobhill), to study in detail the effects of the vaccination programme and to allow targeting of other interventions as appropriate or which may be available in the future.Reported levels of infection have now declined to low levels in accordance with what would normally be expected at this time of year.