The median waiting times for admission to hospital from the inpatient and day case waiting list for lung cancer surgery, in the year ending 30 September 2000, by NHS Trust are given in the table.The Scottish Cancer Group is currently preparing a cancer plan for Scotland which will be published in the near future. The plan will include national targets for maximum waiting times.

NHSScotland: Median Waiting Times for Hospital Admission from the Inpatient and Day Case Waiting List for Lung Cancer¹ Surgery: Year Ending 30 September 2000^p

NHS Trust of Treatment	Median Wait (Days)
Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals	8
Ayrshire and Arran Acute Hospitals	5
Borders Acute Hospitals	12
Dumfries and Galloway Acute and Maternity	12
Fife Acute Hospitals	3
Forth Valley Acute Hospitals	6
Grampian Acute Hospitals	8
Highland Acute Hospitals	3
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals	5
Lothian University Hospitals	21
North Glasgow University Hospitals	20
South Glasgow University Hospitals	9
Tayside University Hospitals	13
West Lothian	1
Scotland	13

^p ProvisionalNotes:1. Patients are defined using diagnosis and operation codes taken from World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 10^th Revision (ICD10) and the Office of Population and Censuses and Surveys Classification of Surgical Operations and Procedures 4^th Revision (OPCS4) respectively. Patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer have been selected on the basis of having a principal diagnosis code C33 and C34 and a principal operation code E39-E48, E50 or E52-E62.

There are no current plans for a formal national strategy. The Executive's policies on healthy lifestyles, like smoking and diet, along with the measures being taken to improve life circumstances, will all help prevent many lung diseases. Our record investment in the NHS will help health boards and NHS Trusts to meet the health care needs of people with lung diseases.

We have no plans to do so. The decision on whether a nebuliser should be issued rests with the patient's hospital consultant.

These statistics are not held centrally.

The information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department spends approximately £40 million per year on medical research. Of this, £30 million is allocated from the R&D Support Fund budget to NHS providers for research activities and related infrastructure costs. Table 1 details the allocation for the last three financial years for each NHS provider. Awards made to Trusts prior to 1 April 1999 have been allocated to their successor Trusts in the interests of comparability with later years.In addition, CSO provides approximately £2.8 million of funding annually for seven research units. Table 2 details the allocation to each unit for the last three financial years. CSO also awards a significant number of research grants to individual researchers which are administered by their respective research institution. Total expenditure in any financial year in respect of such grants is approximately £5.5 million. Details of the grants awarded in the last three financial years were provided in my answer to question S1W-13052.The remainder of the CSO research budget largely consists of a significant number of relatively small amounts. Summary information on payments made to the wide range organisations and individuals involved is not readily available.Table 1

Support Fund Recipient		Year
	1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Argyll & Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	21,275	49,467	76,875
Ayrshire & Arran Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	11,000	25,650
Ayrshire & Arran Primary Care NHS Trust	160,000	164,160	179,375
Borders General Hospital NHS Trust	19,625
Borders Primary Care NHS Trust			46,125
Fife Primary Care NHS Trust			47,150
Forth Valley Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	8,200
Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust	18,000	18,468	18,930
Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust	700,000	497,713	487,003
Grampian University Hospitals NHS Trust	4,600,000	4,928,801	4,992,202
Greater Glasgow Primary Care NHS Trust	250,000	410,400	420,660
North Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust	8,098,727	8,309,294	8,436,587
South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust	1,081,013	1,109,119	1,136,847
Yorkhill NHS Trust	1,589,168	1,630,486	1,654,536
Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust	40,600	49,248	75,850
Lanarkshire Primary Care NHS Trust			28,700
Lothian Primary Care NHS Trust	860,000	882,360	922,500
Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust	6,455,116	6,915,289	7,096,060
West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust	13,822
Tayside Research Consortium	3,926,428	4,028,515	4,087,936
West of Scotland Primary Care R&D Network	50,000	51,300	51,250
Ancrum Research Practice	15,580	12,907	21,643
Forth Valley Primary Care Research Group	72,000	73,872	75,719

Table 2

Research Units Budget			Year
		1998-99	1999-2000	2000-01
Dental Health Services Research Unit	University of Dundee	479,945	495,000	521,000
Social and Public Health Sciences Unit	University of Glasgow	251,881	370,220	280,595
Health Services Research Unit	University of Aberdeen	561,606	580,423	615,000
Health Economics Research Unit	University of Aberdeen	387,508	415,803	434,000
Nursing Research Initiative for Scotland	Glasgow Caledonian University	336,928	451,996	336,928
Research Unit in Health, Behaviour and Change	University of Edinburgh	389,728	419,781	406,511
MRC Institute of Hearing Research	Glasgow Royal Infirmary	231,305	247,676	262,172

There are currently 519 chaplains employed in the Health Service. The breakdown by denomination is as follows:Church of Scotland 287Roman Catholic 160Scottish Episcopal 71Chaplains directly employed by Trust 1 (There are 2 vacant posts at present)A breakdown of denomination by each hospital is not held centrally. More detailed information may be obtained from individual Trusts. The names and addresses of all Trusts are available on the Scottish Health on the Web website at www.show.scot.nhs.uk.

The same as you?, our review of services for people with learning disabilities, was well received when published last year.Local authorities are acting on many of the report's recommendations, using existing resources. I understand they are making progress with, for example:joint workingalternatives to traditional day opportunitiesemployment opportunitiesadvocacy schemesIn addition, resources of £36 million over three years are available from 1 April 2001 to support implementation of the review.Local authorities and their partners are required to submit their first Partnership in Practice agreements to the Executive by June this year. They will be closely monitored.

Nationally, I am pleased to say that on 18 October we invited applications to establish the new Scottish Centre for Learning Disabilities. We are also analysing the responses to the consultation on the report, and will support implementation in whatever ways we feel are appropriate.Locally, agencies are acting on the report's suggestion that better outcomes are possible by making better use of existing resources.