Seòmar agus comataidhean

Forestry grants scheme payments in respect of planting on agricultural land are made to both agricultural producers and to those who cease farming after planting. It is not possible to differentiate between the two groups. Figures for the years requested are as follows:

	£ million
1998-99	9.59
1999-2000	9.71
2000-01	11.86
2001-02	11.94

After planting, woodland owners need not remain in agricultural production.

Aggravated sentences are only used to deal with offending while on bail and not other forms of bail abuse. Accordingly, the research is considering the incidence of and particularly the punishment imposed for offending while on bail.

The information requested is not held centrally. BSE is a notifiable disease and cases are required to be notified to the Divisional Veterinary Manager at the local Animal Health Divisional Office of the State Veterinary Service, which operates throughout Great Britain. Since November 1988, 8,256 clinical cases of BSE have been notified in Scotland as at 20 September 2002. Compensation is paid at 100% of market value under the Transmittable Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE) (Scotland) Regulations 2002. Compensation was increased from 50% to 100% in February 1990 and is paid by the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs on behalf of all the GB Agriculture Departments. A further 75 cases of BSE in its pre-clinical phase have been detected in Scotland under the surveillance of fallen stock for bovines over 24 months. Compensation is not payable in these cases.

The average sum received per farm from public subsidy in the financial years requested are as follows:

1998-99	£16,053
1999-2000	£17,162
2000-01	£17,096
2001-02	£17,213

We have no immediate plans to consider making such provision in Scotland.We have, however, noted the proposal in the UK Government's recently published White Paper Justice for All to pilot such a presumption where a suspect tests positive for a class A drug at arrest but refuses treatment. We shall follow this pilot scheme with interest.

The information held by the Scottish Executive about respondents to the Prison Estates Review consultation is contained in the document Consultation Responses - Alphabetic Overview of the responses to the Scottish Executive Consultation on the Future of the Scottish Prison Estate, published by the Executive on 26 July 2002. A copy of that document is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 22959). That document includes the postal addresses of respondents where that information was supplied. In some cases, particularly where responses were provided by e-mail, respondents did not give their postal addresses.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-29439 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

There are a number of measures in place to ensure that prescribers have access to information about the safe and effective use of medicines. Importantly, the Medicines Control Agency (MCA), the UK medicines regulatory authority, is responsible for the safety, quality and efficacy of medicines available on the UK market. The MCA, and its expert Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), continuously monitor the safety of medicines. Through the MCA/CSM, health care professionals are alerted to problems with medicines and provided with advice on the ways medicines can be used more safely. Further information can be found on the MCA's website www.mca.gov.uk.The British National Formulary (BNF), issued free to doctors and pharmacists, provides advice about the prescription of anti-depressants and analgesics. The BNF information reflects safety concerns and shifts in clinical practice. In addition, the product information for medicines, produced by the manufacturers and authorised by the Licensing Authority, includes relevant safety information.Anti-depressant and analgesic prescribing are areas regularly reviewed by NHS board/Primary Care Trust Prescribing Advisers, who receive monthly reports of prescribing data by GP practice. These reports are an important source of information for evaluating the use of medicines. Individual GPs and practices receive quarterly Scottish Prescribing Analysis (SPA) reports, which cover anti-depressants and analgesics. NHS boards and trusts also have access to Drug and Therapeutic Committee advice on the safe use of medicines.In relation to anti-depressant prescribing, Clinical Evidence, a compendium of best available evidence in health care, has been distributed to health care professionals throughout Scotland and includes guidance on the effectiveness of some drug treatments for depression. As with all medicines, the decision whether or not to prescribe a treatment for an individual patient depends on the clinical judgement of the doctor concerned, in consultation with the patient and bearing in mind the risks and benefits of the treatment.

The Scottish Executive Health Department funds the Scottish work of the National Confidentiality Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, a UK-wide study based at the University of Manchester. The first of the Inquiry's reports to include Scottish data "Safer Services" was published in 2001. The Inquiry Team is currently undertaking further research work and another report is expected in due course.The forthcoming Framework for the Reduction of Suicide and Self-harm in Scotland will include financial provision for the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Executive to commission appropriate research into the causes and effective prevention of suicide and self-harm.

Young men will benefit from the National Programme for Improving the Mental Health and Wellbeing of the Scottish Population described in the answer to question S1W-29439 today. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.In addition, the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) has a number of initiatives targeted directly at young men or which include them in their target group. For example, HEBS have identified young men (18 to 30 years) as the target group for Scottish Mental Health Week (SMHW) 2002 and have distributed appropriate resource materials aimed at this group to NHS boards for local dissemination. HEBS is also supporting 15 small projects aimed at young men across Scotland through its Scottish Mental Health Week Small Projects Award Scheme 2002 and is running a seminar during Scottish Mental Health Week called Men and Mental Health.