§ Mr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the cost to the Scottish Office of financing the HIV ante-natal named testing study in Edinburgh and Dundee from 31 August 1990 to 31 March 1991; and what efforts were made to secure alternative funding for the study from 31 March 1991;
130W(2) if he will set out the reasons for ceasing to fund the HIV ante-natal named screening study in Edinburgh and Dundee on 31 March;
(3) if he will set out the Government's policy towards HIV named testing studies of the sort carried out in Edinburgh and Dundee ante-natal units.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythThis study began in December 1988 and received financial support from the Medical Research Council up to 31 August 1990. The Scottish Office provided £55,000 to support the study for a further seven months up to the end of March 1991 in order to maximise the benefits of the information which had been collected and to enable a reliable assessment to be made of HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Edinburgh and Dundee. The information collected in the study is now being analysed and a report is expected to be published in the autumn.
There are no plans for further named surveys of this kind to be conducted in Scotland, but I understand that the Medical Research Council has agreed to fund a further study in Edinburgh and Dundee, involving anonymised testing both of women attending ante-natal clinics and of women having termination of pregnancy. This study is expected to begin in September.