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The number of deaths, including those for which the underlying cause was influenza, is published quarterly by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), in the Births, Marriages and Deaths statistical release. The preliminary figures for 2008 were published on 12 March 2008 http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/preliminary-return/index.html.

The figure for January 2009 will not be available until the statistics for the first quarter of 2009 have been published on 11 June 2009: the latter will be available on the GROS website via the following address http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/quarter/index.html.

The following table provides statistics on deaths from influenza in 2008.

Table 1. Deaths Registered in Scotland in 2008, for which the Underlying Cause was Influenza

Month of Death	Number of Deaths from Influenza
January	1
February	1
March	1
April	1
May	0
June	0
July	0
August	0
September	0
October	0
November	0
December	5

Source: General Registry Office Scotland.

The Scottish Ministerial Code provides Scottish ministers with general guidance in relation to their financial interests, but does not provide specific guidance on the treatment of any particular category of financial interest, such as offshore accounts. The full text of the Scottish Ministerial Code can be found on the Scottish Government''s website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/684.

Paragraph 11.3 of the Scottish Ministerial Code makes clear that, on appointment to each new office, ministers must provide the Permanent Secretary with a full list in writing of all interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. Paragraph 11.5 further provides that The personal information which ministers disclose to those who advise them is treated in complete confidence and may not be disclosed without their permission. Accordingly, details of ministers'' financial interests which have been provided to the Permanent Secretary are not made public.

The text of the Scottish Ministerial Code can be found on the Scottish Government''s website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/684.

In addition, as MSPs, ministers are required to adhere to the terms of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament. This requires them to provide details of all registrable financial interests, as defined in the schedule to the Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament Act 2006.

Details of the interests declared by each minister in the Register of Interests of Members of the Scottish Parliament may be found on the Scottish Parliament''s website at:

www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/index.htm.

Scotland has not had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease since 2001. The emphasis remains on prevention of disease entering Scotland and Scottish Government has in place robust measures to help minimise the risk of introduction of the disease, including a ban on imports from countries with disease. The Scottish Government is well prepared to control, contain and eradicate any incursion.

The Union, the current supplier under the VisitScotland Direct Marketing Creative & Account Management Services contract, undertook the production of the Homecoming Scotland advertisement and as such the production work was made under the terms of an existing pre-tendered contract. This three year contract (running from June 2007 to May 2010) was procured through the formal EU tender process and was advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Music usage costs were paid to Dougie McLean and usage rights agreed with him as owner of this piece of music. The fee paid for this was for usage in the advertisement but also covered usage when it was played in various media channels.

The arrangements in relation to prescription forms issued in England and dispensed in Scotland are set out in the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2008, and have therefore been given full consideration by the Scottish Parliament. The arrangements in relation to prescription forms issued in Scotland and dispensed in England are set out in the relevant Regulations in England.

These Regulations provide that all prescriptions written in England and presented in a pharmacy in Scotland, and vice versa, will be dispensed in the normal way. However, the charge applied per item will be the equivalent of the charge applied in England, which is currently £7.20, unless patients are exempt under the relevant Regulations. This includes exemption through presentation of a valid Prescription Pre-payment Certificate (PPC), which are particularly beneficial to patients with long-term conditions.

A small number of residents of Scotland are registered with a GP practice based in England and will therefore be issued with an English prescription form. Those patients can apply for an Entitlement Card which entitles them to pay the reduced Scottish charge, currently £4.00, if they present their prescription form, along with their Entitlement Card, in a pharmacy in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22935 on 7 May 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-22935 on 7 May 2009. 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/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

(a) The gross cost of dispensing prescriptions to patients across Scotland from April 2008 to December 2008* was approximately £834 million. This includes drug costs and related dispensing fees. Costs for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will depend upon various factors including future decisions by prescribers and future changes in drug costs. These are not forecast centrally but, as responsibility for meeting prescribing costs is devolved to NHS boards, each board sets its own prescribing budget.

(b) The income from prescription charges** from April 2008 to December 2008* was £26 million and we estimate that income for the full financial year 2008-09 will be more than £33 million. We currently estimate income in 2009-10 and 2010-11 of £27 million and £21 million, respectively, but this will depend upon a number of factors including future decisions by prescribers.

Notes:

* full financial year data will not be available until later in the year.

**including prescription charges for single items as well as income from sales of Prescription Pre-payment Certificates.