I do not blame Ben Wallace for making that point, because there has been much speculation about it in the press. However, I am told that there will be 900,000 doses of flu vaccine available for use in Scotland. That is a 75 per cent increase on the 520,000 doses that were available last year. We are confident that that substantial increase will benefit the population and will guard against a flu epidemic, with all the pressures that it puts on individuals and on hospital services. I hope that that increase will be widely welcomed.

I have a letter from the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council, whose chairman, George Romanes, writes:

"I was surprised to read the negative coverage which appeared . . . last weekend about the supply of influenza vaccines . . . It is therefore our opinion that most of the hype surrounding the shortage of vaccines is unfounded."

I hope that that is so.