By BBC Scotland's Westminster correspondent David Porter

The first Prime Minister's questions - not only of the new year but of the new century as well - brought high hopes.

After an absence of almost a month, the House of Commons chamber was full once again as the government and opposition prepared to square up to one another.

There was a palpable sense of expectation.

Whatever the pundits - and cynics - might say about the declining role of parliament, there is no doubt this half hour on a Wednesday afternoon is the highlight of the week.

Both government and opposition put an awful lot of time and effort into preparing for the weekly encounters.

From a journalist's point of view, it was not a promising start.

We have become used to some fairly patsy questions to the prime minister from his backbenchers, but even by those standards, the first effort was pretty much softball.

The labour for Nottingham East, John Heppell opened with the following: ''May I say what an honour it is to ask the first question of the millennium, I hope it is not the last."

He then went on to frame an extremely long-winded question which basically asked the Prime Minister to agree that the government was doing an excellent job!

Not surprisingly, Mr Blair had no trouble with handling such a question.

But all the same he looked a bit embarrassed that he was not being asked something more challenging.

His senior colleagues agreed.

On the front bench the chancellor shook his head and the Home Secretary starred bleakly at his feet.

Fortunately, normal service was soon resumed for the devotees of the weekly jousting session.

The journalists and spin doctors who had piled into the press gallery were not to be disappointed.

Clashes over health

As expected, Mr Blair and Mr Hague clashed over health and the flu crisis.

Mr Hague chose his line of attack - accusing the government of not doing enough to stem the current outbreak and accusing the Prime Minister of being more interested in spin doctors than doctors in white coats.

It was the stab the Tory team had been waiting for and there were broad grins all round at the emphatic way Mr Hague spat out the required soundbite on "spin doctors".

The Labour team, too, had made sure the Prime Minister has his ammunition.

Using the background material they had dug up on Mr Hague's time at the Welsh Office, the Prime Minister accused Mr Hague of being a health service cutter.

It was now time for the Labour benches to look pleased with themselves.

Next it was the turn of the Liberal Democrats.

Rituals of PM's questions

So far their new man, Charles Kennedy, has not quite yet adapted to the rituals of Prime Ministers Questions.

Unlike his predecessor, who could bark out a soundbite with parade ground precision, Mr Kennedy is still learning the ropes.

But the choice of all three party leaders to concentrate on health shows just how politically important the issue is.

At the end of the day, each was accusing the other of letting electors down.

The arguments are pretty familiar and no doubt we will hear a lot more of them in the coming weeks.

With the job in hand done and Prime Ministers Questions over for another week, the rival teams all trooped out of en masse.

Alastair Campbell and the Labour crew through the left hand door - the Tory team, with the Lib Dems behind them, through the right hand door.

Barely had they left the chamber, there is no doubt, that the various teams were already thinking of ways to trip each other up at the same time next week.