§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether he will review the level of funding for non-statutory providers of education about HIV risks;
(2) what information he has on the resources allocated to counselling people who are HIV positive;
(3) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the current strategy for HIV prevention; and if he will hold discussions on the subject with relevant groups;
(4) whether he will fund research into the effectiveness of current education strategies aimed at decreasing the risk of HIV infection;
(5) whether he will review existing mainstream health education on HIV with a view to targeting gay men more effectively.
432W
Table 1: Notifications of Bacillary Dysentery 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Scotland 196 154 235 1,526 3,486 Argyll and Clyde 16 7 13 12 57 Ayrshire and Arran 7 3 7 51 306 Borders 10 7 2 3 25 Dumfries and Galloway 3 2 — 80 20
§ Mr. StewartThe prevention of HIV and AIDS was identified as a priority in the national policy statement "Health Education in Scotland" published in March 1991. Later that year, a ministerial task force was set up to consider how current prevention initiatives could be further developed and enhanced. The task force report, "Prevention the Key", was published in 1992 and its wide-ranging recommendations are now being implemented.
The task force recognised the invaluable contribution made by voluntary organisations in providing educational information on the risks of HIV and in providing support to those infected and affected by HIV or AIDS. Grants are made to voluntary bodies under section 16B of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 for HIV and AIDS services and/or initiatives. Planned expenditure for such purposes in 1993–94 by the Scottish Office Home and Health Department amounts to £154,000, 7 per cent. more than in 1992–93.
The task force report stressed the importance of prevention initiatives among gay men and this continues to be one of the themes of public education campaigns. The report also underlined the need for evaluation strategies and the AIDS Prevention Co-ordinating Group for Scotland (APCGS), set up in November 1992 in accordance with a recommendation of the task force, has been paying particular regard to the effectiveness of current strategies and discussing ideas for new prevention initiatives. The APCGS includes health board and local authority representation and representatives from the voluntary sector, the Health Education Board for Scotland and the police and prison services.