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HIV
Dr. Strang: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the anonymised programme of HIV surveillance in Scotland, setting out for each survey currently in operation or planned the (a) location, (b) targeted populations, (c) clinical reasons for initial collection of specimens, (d) number of specimen collection venues, (e) annual specimen numbers and (f) most recent prevalence data. [71910]
Mr. Galbraith: The statistical information is set out in the tables.
The two principal targeted populations are genito-urinary clinic attenders and neonates. For the latter, prevalence of HIV antibody positivity among neonates is
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an indicator of the prevalence of HIV infection among childbearing women. Up to 1997, additional unlinked anonymous HIV testing was performed on pregnant women in Edinburgh and Dundee. Because HIV prevalence among this group has remained relatively low and stable, these additional surveys were discontinued as at December 1997.
Genito-urinary clinic attenders having a syphilis serology test or presenting with a new sexually- transmitted disease for the first time in a calender quarter are eligible for entry into the survey. HIV testing of
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neonates is performed on dried blood spots collected on Guthrie cards used for neonatal metabolic screening tests for conditions such as hypothyroidism and phenylketonuria.
For genito-urinary clinic attenders the collection venues are two genito-urinary clinics in Glasgow, one in Edinburgh, one in Dundee, one in Aberdeen, one in Falkirk and one in Stirling. For neonates, all Guthrie cards are sent directly to the neonatal metabolic screening laboratory at Stobhill General Hospital, Glasgow.
From 1 July 1999 this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
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| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | %+ve | N | %+ve | N | %+ve | |
| Greater Glasgow | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 255 | 4.31 | 215 | 4.65 | 311 | 1.93 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 2,035 | 0.20 | 1,519 | 0.20 | 2,105 | 0.14 |
| Hetero Females (excl. IDUs) | 1,374 | 0.07 | 956 | 0.21 | 1,232 | 0.00 |
| Injecting Drug Users(IDU) | 38 | 5.26 | 37 | 2.70 | 50 | 0.00 |
| Other/Unknown | 64 | 0.00 | 77 | 0.00 | 101 | 0.00 |
| Total | 3,766 | 0.48 | 2,804 | 0.57 | 3,799 | 0.24 |
| Lothian | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 292 | 3.08 | 477 | 3.98 | 437 | 3.66 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 2,246 | 0.40 | 2,087 | 0.29 | 2,241 | 0.22 |
| Hetero Female (excl. IDUs) | 1,971 | 0.20 | 1,876 | 0.32 | 2,231 | 0.18 |
| Injecting Drug Users (IDU) | 27 | 3.70 | 35 | 11.43 | 55 | 7.27 |
| Other/Unknown | 27 | 0.00 | 35 | 0.00 | 50 | 0.00 |
| Total | 4,563 | 0.50 | 4,510 | 0.78 | 5,014 | 0.58 |
| Tayside | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 28 | 7.14 | 38 | 2.63 | 46 | 0.00 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 515 | 0.58 | 468 | 0.21 | 550 | 0.18 |
| Hetero Females (excl. IDUs) | 248 | 0.40 | 297 | 0.00 | 379 | 0.00 |
| Injecting Drug Users (IDU) | 16 | 0.00 | 9 | 0.00 | 31 | 9.68 |
| Other/Unknown | 17 | 0.00 | 22 | 0.00 | 52 | 0.00 |
| Total | 824 | 0.73 | 834 | 0.24 | 1,058 | 0.38 |
| Grampian | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 34 | 0.00 | 83 | 1.20 | 50 | 6.00 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 481 | 0.21 | 489 | 0.00 | 505 | 0.40 |
| Hetero Females (excl. IDUs) | 336 | 0.00 | 428 | 0.00 | 425 | 0.71 |
| Injecting Drug Users (IDU) | 14 | 0.00 | 46 | 0.00 | 57 | 0.00 |
| Other/Unknown | 14 | 0.00 | 14 | 0.00 | 69 | 1.45 |
| Total | 879 | 0.11 | 1,060 | 0.09 | 1,106 | 0.81 |
| Other | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 23 | 4.35 | 19 | 15.79 | 28 | 0.00 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 363 | 0.00 | 303 | 0.00 | 477 | 0.00 |
| Hetero Females (excl. IDUs) | 297 | 0.34 | 258 | 0.00 | 467 | 0.00 |
| Injecting Drug Users (IDU) | 11 | 0.00 | 8 | 0.00 | 15 | 0.00 |
| Other/Unknown | 8 | 0.00 | 4 | 0.00 | 9 | 0.00 |
| Total | 702 | 0.28 | 592 | 0.51 | 996 | 0.00 |
| Scotland | ||||||
| Homo/Bisexual Males (excl. IDUs) | 632 | 3.64 | 832 | 4.09 | 872 | 2.87 |
| Hetero Males (excl. IDUs) | 5,640 | 0.30 | 4,866 | 0.21 | 5,878 | 0.19 |
| Hetero Females (excl. IDUs) | 4,226 | 0.17 | 3,815 | 0.21 | 4,734 | 0.15 |
| Injecting Drug Users (IDU) | 106 | 2.83 | 135 | 3.70 | 208 | 3.37 |
| Other/Unknown | 130 | 0.00 | 152 | 0.00 | 281 | 0.36 |
| Total | 10,734 | 0.47 | 9,800 | 0.58 | 11,973 | 0.43 |
(7) Attenders at GUM clinics in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Falkirk, and Stirling Geographical categorisation is by the health board area in which the clinic is sited.
(8) This survey was confined to pregnant women attending clinics in Edinburgh and Dundee. Geographical categorisation is by the health board area in which the clinic is sited.
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Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the Gaelic-medium units in Scottish primary schools and the number of pupils studying them in each year since 1985. [71674]
Mr. Macdonald
[holding answer 22 February 1999]: The table shows numbers of Gaelic-medium units in Scottish primary schools and the total number of pupils in each year since 1985:
| Unit | Pupils | |
|---|---|---|
| 1985-86 | 2 | 24 |
| 1986-87 | 6 | 64 |
| 1987-88 | 9 | 112 |
| 1988-89 | 13 | 169 |
| 1989-90 | 19 | 286 |
| 1990-91 | 25 | 431 |
| 1991-92 | 31 | 614 |
| 1992-93 | 38 | 824 |
| 1993-94 | 45 | 1,080 |
| 1994-95 | 47 | 1,258 |
| 1995-96 | 50 | 1,456 |
| 1996-97 | 52 | 1,587 |
| 1997-98 | 55 | 1,736 |
| 1998-99 | 56 | 1,816 |
From 1 July 1999 this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
Media Allegations (Rebuttals)
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list (a) those units in his Department and (b) the number of departmental staff which are concerned with preparing rebuttals of allegations in the media; and what is (i) the total cost of their work, including salaries, and (ii) the number of rebuttals issued since May 1997. [71844]
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Mr. Dewar
[holding answer 22 February 1999]: In common with other departments, the work of press officers in my department includes responding to and correcting any misinformed or inaccurate media reporting of Government policy or activity. They are supported in this work by other officials as necessary.
This is a routine part of a Department's work and it is not separately recorded from other tasks.
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the criteria he has applied (a) in selecting the areas in which solicitors will receive an enhanced fixed payment for summary criminal legal aid cases and (b) in determining the level of the enhanced payment. [71860]
Mr. McLeish:
The criteria were chosen to reflect a combination of small numbers of cases dealt with and time taken to travel to the court.
The 15 Sheriff courts in Scotland with the lowest throughput of cases were therefore identified. Any courts which were less than 40 miles from the nearest other sheriff court and which could be reached without a sea crossing were eliminated from the list. The resultant list of courts for which an additional payment will be available is Campbeltown, Stornoway, Lockmaddy, Kirkwall, Lerwick, Oban, Portree, Lochgilphead and Rothesay Sheriff courts.
The additional fee of £50 was determined to provide reasonable remuneration to solicitors who have to represent clients in these courts. The Sheriff Court core fee has also been increased to £500 for all courts. From 1 July 1999 legal aid in Scotland will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
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