asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give the number of patients in Scotland who are on National Health Service waiting lists for (a)urgent treatment and (b)non-urgent treatment; and what were the numbers in each category for each year since 1979.

This information is not available in precisely the form requested. The numbers on waiting lists in Scotland at 30 September in the years in question were as follows:

Year	Numbers
1979	70,970
1980	67,180
1981	65,024
1982	86,179
1983	88,213
1984	*83,061
*Provisional.

The increase in waiting lists casused by industrial action in 1982 is now being steadily reduced. Lists tend to overstate numbers of patients waiting for treatment since they include duplicated entries and patients who no longer need treatment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average waiting time for National Health Service patients in Scotland requiring (a) urgent treatment and (b) non-urgent treatment in each year since 1979.

This information is not available in precisely the form requested. The mean waiting times (in days) for all in-patient treatment in Scotland in the years in question were as follows:

Year	Days
1979	79
1980	75
1981	73
1982	67
1983	98

The increase in 1983 reflects the effect of industrial action of 1982.The 1984 statistics are not yet available.