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The safety of medicines is a reserved matter. The Medicines Control Agency (MCA) is responsible for monitoring the safety of medicines over the whole of the UK. From time to time it may direct that a specific medicine may not be prescribed, and such a direction would apply both to the NHS and private practitioners.It is open to a GP or hospital clinician to refer a patient for any alternative therapy, which might include the administration of medicines. The GP or hospital clinician would require to be satisfied of the value of the treatment, the competence of the practitioner and the safety of the medicine, and would remain responsible for the patient's medical care.

The following table, provided by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH), sets out confirmed cases of hepatitis C, by health board, to the end of 1999:

Health Board	Numbers
Argyll & Clyde	601
Ayrshire & Arran	384
Borders	52
Dumfries & Galloway	147
Fife	254
Forth Valley	410
Grampian	1,126
Greater Glasgow	3,712
Highland	198
Lanarkshire	561
Lothian	1,730
Orkney	8
Shetland	15
Tayside	786
Western Isles	3
Total	9,987

Information on the number of these cases who were receiving treatment is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally. We know that the therapies most commonly offered within the NHS are acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy and chiropractice, but it is open to a GP or hospital clinician to refer a patient for any alternative therapy. The GP or hospital clinician would require to be satisfied of the value of the treatment and the competence of the practitioner, and would remain responsible for the patient's medical care. Some GPs and other medical professionals themselves are also qualified to offer particular alternative therapies. Whether the costs of alternative therapies are met by the patient or the NHS would be for the health board to decide. It is also open to health boards to arrange for the provision of alternative therapies, but that would be a decision for the board based on its assessment of local needs.

No.

Monitoring of depleted uranium in the environment is already undertaken by the Radiation Protection Services of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. The Scottish Executive has no plans to instigate additional monitoring.

I am advised by the Ministry of Defence that 6,907 depleted uranium projectiles have been fired into the Solway Firth from the Dundrennan Range, Kirkcudbright, and 315 into Luce Bay from the West Freugh Range, near Stranraer. These projectiles are not explosive.

The report is being published today and is available in the Parliament Reference Centre and, shortly, on the Executive's website.I am grateful to the review group for their thorough consideration of this important subject. It is clear that, despite considerable success in responding to the challenge of HIV over the past decade and more, the momentum of prevention activity must be maintained. The report provides an invaluable framework within which concerted action by the Scottish Executive, NHS Scotland, local authorities, voluntary organisations and other interests can be revitalised and strengthened.To assist the implementation process, the Scottish Executive is increasing funding to health boards from £6.1 million to £7.1 million in the current financial year and to £8.1 million in subsequent years for prevention work. This substantial increase reflects the commitment given in Our National Health that more resources would be made available to tackle infections like HIV and hepatitis C.

Healthy Respect is one of four National Demonstration Projects to apply and extend evidence about ways of improving health in priority areas. The National Demonstration Projects will be subject to independent evaluations covering methodology, impact and outcomes in order to identify lessons for the rest of Scotland. This work will be overseen by a national steering group chaired by the Chief Medical Officer.

It is the responsibility of health boards to assess local needs for genito-urinary medicine services, and to make appropriate provision.

Substantial funding increases have already been announced for the NHS in Scotland, and the Executive is working with the service to ensure that these resources are invested effectively in a way that will enable boards and Trusts to develop and deliver improved health services.

Lessons from the Lothian-based Healthy Respect national health demonstration project will help to inform the successful implementation of sexual health policies in the future.

Prior to 1996, the A68/A7 trunk roads provided a route between Dalkeith and the historic City of Edinburgh boundary which lay within the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass. Following a review of the trunk road network in 1996 the bypass was trunked and all the roads within the bypass became the responsibility of the new councils. This was in line with the principles of the review that the road user should be provided with a coherent and continuous system of routes which serve destinations of importance to industry, commerce, agriculture and tourism and that those roads which were of predominantly local importance should be managed locally.