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The following figures are derived from the Prescription Cost Analysis system. They give the value of prescription charges collected for drugs and devices to treat asthma in sections 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 of the British National Formulary in the last five years for which figures are available.

Year	Prescription Charges Collected (£)
1996-97	1,914,303
1997-98	2,113,371
1998-99	2,341,077
1999-2000	2,739,813
2000-01	2,828,598

These data refer to prescriptions dispensed in the community and do not take into account any items dispensed by hospitals or hospital based clinics.

The following table shows the number of beds per 1,000 population in each health board area in 1999. It is not meaningful to make comparisons between individual boards, because these figures do not take account of differences in the underlying healthcare needs of the population living in different health board areas, nor do they take account of the extent to which hospitals in one area may treat patients from neighbouring health board areas.Table 1NHSiS - Average available staffed beds¹; by health board of treatment; Year ending 31 December 1999, rate per 1,000 population

	Acute Specialties2	Acute Surgical Specialties
Scotland	3.3	1.3
Argyll & Clyde	3.1	1.1
Ayrshire & Arran	2.9	1.1
Borders	2.6	1.0
Dumfries & Galloway	2.6	1.1
Fife	2.3	0.8
Forth Valley	2.7	1.1
Grampian	3.2	1.4
Greater Glasgow	4.5	1.8
Highland	3.7	1.5
Lanarkshire	2.9	1.2
Lothian	3.2	1.1
Orkney	1.2	1.2
Shetland	2.6	1.1
Tayside	3.9	1.5
Western Isles	4.9	1.5

Notes: 1. Includes NHS beds in joint-user and contractual hospitals.2. Includes acute surgical, acute medical beds and geriatric medicine excluding long stay.

The following table lists the average cost of a prescription item for each category for the last five years:Generic

Year	Average cost per item (£)
2000-01	10.64
1999-2000	9.50
1998-99	8.22
1997-98	7.76
1996-97	6.88

Branded

Year	Average cost per item (£)
2000-01	14.29
1999-2000	13.27
1998-99	12.77
1997-98	12.22
1996-97	11.78

Homeopathic

Year	Average cost per item (£)
2000-01	3.68
1999-2000	3.49
1998-98	3.29
1997-98	2.97
1996-97	2.85

These data refer to NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community and do not take into account any items dispensed by hospitals or hospital based clinics.

The following table lists the number of NHS prescriptions dispensed in the community in each of the last five years:

Year	Number of Prescriptions
1996-97	46,904
1997-98	49,556
1998-99	51,486
1999-2000	54,310
2000-01	52,889

The preliminary date for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to issue guidance to the NHS on the clinical and cost effectiveness of trastuzumab (Herceptin) is March 2002. As with all NICE appraisals consultees have the right to appeal against these recommendations. If an appeal is lodged the timelines may be extended in order to consider the appeal. Details of the schedule are published on the institute's website at nice.org.uk.The Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) will consult with experts to determine if there are any important differences to be considered in Scotland. HTBS will then issue authoritative guidance for NHSScotland in the form of an HTBS Comment, six to 10 weeks after NICE publishes its guidance.

The total number of out-patients waiting for an out-patient appointment at the Scottish National Sleep Centre at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, from all health boards, is approximately 1,000. The number of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) assessments carried out each month, involving overnight studies, is approximately 50. Not all patients whose cases are studied in this way are assessed as suitable for CPAP treatment. Funding by NHS Lothian in 2000-01 for the service was £172,000. In 2001-02 this was increased by £109,000, following the review of the service in June 2001. Final details of next year's funding have not yet been agreed. In addition, the National Sleep Centre receives substantial funding from a number of other NHS boards.

The Scottish Health Plan, Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change, reinforces the requirement of NHSScotland to meet the specific needs of people with physical disability by giving a commitment to "improve physical access to health services, meetings and offices, by carrying out an accessibility audit of all NHS premises". This commitment is consistent with the legal obligations which require NHS bodies to comply with the statutory requirements of section 21: Access to Goods and Services, of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). The provisions of section 21 are being phased in over the period October 1999 to December 2004.To assist NHS Holding Bodies the Scottish Executive Health Department (SEHD) and the NHSScotland Property and Environment Forum have issued comprehensive guidance on both compliance with section 21 of the DDA and on accessibility audits. Responsibility for implementing measures to ensure compliance with these legal obligations rests with NHS Holding Bodies, e.g. NHS trusts, and to inform the process accessibility audits are currently on-going.Having issued this guidance SEHD and the NHSScotland Property and Environment Forum are considering what monitoring mechanisms need to be put in place to assess the progress of compliance. It is anticipated that appropriate monitoring arrangements will be in place in the near future.

Of existing plans, 27 of the 32 councils include brain injury as a separate section. Plans for the 2001-04 period are presently being reviewed and, of 16 received to date, 12 include a separate section.

I launched the Staff Governance Standard on 25 January at the Scottish Partnership Conference. A copy of the Standard is available on the Health Department website.

We are currently seeking this information from NHS trusts and will reply to the member as soon as possible.