The information is set out in the table below.¹ The general index of retail prices has been used to deflate the average gross ingredient cost into real terms, using 1995-96 as a baseline.

Average Gross Ingredient Cost of General and Proprietary Items Dispensed 1995-96 to 1999-2000

	Generic		Proprietary
Financial Year	Average cost per item £	Total cost of all items dispensed £	Average cost per item £	Total cost of all items dispensed £
1995-96	1.80	39,320,610	12.72	388,274,138
1996-97	2.01	48,201,533	13.54	407,937,513
1997-98	2.72	71,981,179	13.89	414,375,875
1998-99	2.63	74,064,879	14.41	427,385,527
1999-2000	3.66	105,354,734	15.07	455,592,429

Notes:

1. Excludes appliances, dressings, oxygen and unallocated items, which cannot be defined as generic or proprietary.

Establishing a serogroup for a case of meningococcal disease is straightforward if the organism itself has been isolated from the patient. However, it is good clinical practice for suspected cases to be given antibiotics as soon as possible, even before transfer to a hospital. In such cases, in particular where antibiotics have been successful, isolation of the organism is frequently impossible (around two thirds of the total) because the treatment makes the organism more difficult to extract.

Technical improvements in diagnostic techniques are being made all the time, and the level of submission of specimens to the Scottish Meningococcal Reference Laboratory which carries out such testing, has never been higher.

The project entitled "Carriage on hypervirulent meningococci before and after introduction of serogroup C conjugate polysaccharide vaccine in the UK" is due to submit a progress report in November 2000 with the possibility of the study being extended until the end of October 2002.

The Scottish Executive is committed to extending the upper age range of routine invitation for breast screening to include those aged (64-70).

I have commissioned a task group to prepare an implementation plan for this extension of the screening programme and look forward to receiving the plan by spring 2001.

There are no plans to extend the age range (20-60 years) for cervical cancer screening.

The Practitioner Services Division of the Common Services Agency went live in October 2000 with a new data capture, validation and pricing system for processing pharmacists' claims for payment in respect of dispensed prescriptions. Software for processing ophthalmic claims is being developed and that system is expected to go live early next year.

Although there were shortages of generic drugs during 1999-2000, contingency arrangements already in place ensured both that patients continued to receive their medicines and that community pharmacists were appropriately reimbursed. Scottish Executive Health Department officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council to ensure that these arrangements continue to achieve these twin objectives in cases of shortages.

I also support the steps taken by the Department of Health to commission a fundamental review of the way the generics market serves the needs of Primary Care. I will be looking carefully at the department's conclusions and the implications for Scotland.

Any underspending against profile on a specific capital project in one year is carried forward to the next year. The Scottish Executive can adjust each Health Board's and NHS Trust's capital allocation during any financial year, which could have the effect of transferring an underspent capital allocation from one NHS body to another. However, where underspending arises from slippage on a specific project, it will normally be more prudent to enable the underspend to be carried forward to the following financial year.

Currently, the level of resources allocated for capital investment in the NHS in Scotland during 2000-01 and 2001-02 total £179 million and £194 million respectively. In addition, capital resources of £30 million were made available during 2000-01 for investment in medical equipment and other areas of the NHS.

Any resources carried forward from the previous year due to capital slippage will be added to future year totals.

Yes. The Scottish Executive discusses these and other matters with Health Boards and NHS Trusts regularly and in particular in the context of Health Improvement Programmes and Trust Implementation Plans.

The level of capital slippage in any year is determined by a range of factors, including the characteristics and spending profile of particular projects. It will therefore vary from year to year.

The Scottish Executive monitors spending on particular projects against expenditure profiles provided by individual Health Boards and NHS Trusts, and has emphasised to them the need for profiles to be updated regularly so that any potential slippage is identified as early as possible and any resources underspent on a particular project in one year can be carried forward to the next. Prudent financial and project management means that it is not always appropriate for the whole of the capital allocation made available for a particular year to be spent in that year.