§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the number of patients in National Health Service hospitals in Scotland daily; if he will give a breakdown for each health board; what is his estimate of the daily number of outpatient and accident cases treated; and if he will give a breakdown per health board.
§ Mr. FairgrieveThe information is set out in the table below:
§ Mr. YoungerThe 30-year rule, and any exception to that rule authorised in England and Wales by the Lord Chancellor under section 5 of the 1958 Act, are, in pursuance of the policy adopted by successive Secretaries of State, equally applied to Government records in the Scottish Records Office.
§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why file No. 557, listed in Home and Health Index, volume 55, at the Scottish Record Office, is closed to public access until 2041.
§ Mr. YoungerThis file deals with security matters and, like other such 471W Government records, is subject to the 100-year rule.
§ Mr. David Steelasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why there is no public access to a Scottish Record Office file, dated 1894, on the number of children under 17 years held in Scottish prisons.
§ Mr. YoungerThe question appears to relate to a file containing statistical information on this subject. There is no bar to public access to this file which, as the Scottish Record Office lists show, is open to public inspection.