asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the rate of increase in new sufferers of AIDS both in Scotland as a whole and in the Strathclyde region; and if he will make a statement.

Up to the end of September 1987, 31 persons in Scotland had been registered with the Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit as suffering from AIDS; this represents an increase of 17 over the cumulative total of AIDS cases in Scotland reported up to the end of September 1986. Since the figure for a particular region may be very low, and its publication may in consequence endanger medical confidentiality, a geographical breakdown of AIDS cases in Scotland is not at present published.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the latest figures of National health Service patients treated for AIDS.

Up to the end of September 1987, 31 cases of patients in Scotland suffering from AIDS had been reported to the Communicable Diseases (Scotland) Unit. Of this total, 15 had died.