³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Every local authority in Scotland has been given a provisional allocation of funding to support activities, designed to promote the role of sport in diverting children and young people from crime or behaviour likely to lead to this type of activity.The provisional allocation is based on the size of school population in the local authority area and on the levels of deprivation found in the area. There is also a weighting for the three Islands authorities, to ensure that they have meaningful allocations.

Statistics relating to the children's hearings system are an operational matter for the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. National statistics are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 18780).

Costs will vary. However, the estimated cost of training a pre-registration mental health nursing student is around £30,000. To train a community psychiatric nurse can add a further £21,000.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-23216 on 11 March 2002.

The published guidance on the best organisation of eating disorder services invites agencies to explore all mediums that can offer improved access to services and advice.A teleconferencing link is already established between the Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen and Lerwick Health Centre, with validated positive results for patients and therapists for all conditions including eating disorders. The Grampian Eating Disorder Service has also piloted the use of teleconferencing for people with eating disorders from Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh.The Scottish Telemedicine Action Forum has recently funded a project designed to further extend the existing specialist psychological therapies for eating disorders service to the whole of the Grampian area. More generally, the Remote and Rural Area Resource Initiative has been established to advise and help with more effective means of delivering care in rural and remote areas of Scotland.

Specific guidance offering agencies a template for change and improvement in the provision and organisation of services, promotion, prevention and care was published in October last year.The visiting Mental Health and Well Being Support Group has also announced that eating disorders will feature for particular attention, with other topics, in their second round review of the strategic approach to change and improvement in mental health services by the care agencies.The outcome reports of progress made in each case, are published within four weeks of each visit and are available on the support group's website at:.

The following table shows the number of males treated in an acute general hospital, mental illness hospital or psychiatric unit between July 2000 and June 2001:

Ìý	Anorexia Nervosa	Bulimia
Male patients	7	4

Source: ISD Scotland, SMR01/04.Provisional.A sample of general practitioner consultations, produces figures which are too low to allow a meaningful, robust national estimate of those treated by primary care services.

The numbers of patients are very low (under five) and to provide the exact figure could allow them to be identified, which would breach their right to patient confidentiality.

The Mental Health and Well Being Support Group continues its visits to the relevant agencies in each area and publishes a report on the progress made in each case, in implementing the Framework for Mental Health Services in Scotland modernisation agenda. Each report now includes an overall summary which assesses the stage reached on individual components of a good fit for purpose mental health service. For example, an assessment of the local approach to eating disorder and psychological interventions services are included. These reports are available on the support group's website at:.

Throughout Scotland, people suffering from eating disorders are diagnosed and treated by general psychiatrists. In addition, specialist services have been established in Lanarkshire, Lothian, Highland and Grampian. These services range from specialist eating disorder teams to single nurse specialist posts. Some of the specialist services are available to residents of other NHS board areas.