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The Scottish Government is convinced that the funding made available to elite sportsmen and women has made a significant contribution to the results obtained by the Scotland team. At the Delhi Commonwealth Games in 2010 for instance, the Scottish team exceeded it medal target by bringing home 26 medals.

This success by our elite sports people will be further enhanced by the Scottish Government’s added investment of £2.3 million in 2010-11 and a further £3.3 million this year and we look forward to continued success at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Scottish Ministers set conditions and priorities within the grant aid provided to sportscotland against which the performance of all investment can be measured. As part of the on-going sponsorship function, sportscotland is required to submit regular reports to the Scottish Government to demonstrate what it is doing to deliver key objectives and Ministerial priorities. This is in line with the rigorous monitoring of expenditure as set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

In terms of sport governing bodies, the monitoring of achievement and meeting of objectives is undertaken by sportscotland, and I have asked the Chief Executive to write to you separately with that information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01230 on 21 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Minister for Housing and Communities wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 14 January 2011 regarding the proposal to introduce the Warm Home Discount Scheme replacing social tariffs. In that letter he broadly welcomed proposals to extend the requirement on Energy companies to assist vulnerable households, provide consistency over eligibility and to put this on a mandatory footing.

The Minister for Housing and Communities wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on 14 January 2011 regarding the proposal to introduce the Warm Home Discount Scheme replacing social tariffs. In that letter he broadly welcomed proposals to extend the requirement on Energy companies to assist vulnerable households, provide consistency over eligibility and to put this on a mandatory footing. However, concern was raised that the proposed flat rate discount rather than a discounted tariff disadvantaged vulnerable households in Scotland given the more severe climate and longer heating season. Also, the significant proportion of households in Scotland without access to mains gas.

The Scottish Government publishes a wide range of guidance on procurement, including guidance on financial appraisal and for businesses on tendering for public contracts. (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/buyer-information). We are also developing a new simple guide to public sector procurement for all types of suppliers, the Procurement Journey for Suppliers which will be published later this year.

The Scottish Government has also implemented a national contract advertising portal, “Public Contracts Scotland” which provides information to suppliers wishing to participate in public sector procurement processes (www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk). Over 50,000 suppliers have registered (84% are SMEs) and 74% of the contracts awarded through PCS go to SMEs.

Working in consortia and in other supply chain partnerships can help small, medium and social enterprises to compete effectively for larger public sector contracts. The Government has produced guidance (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/48453/0081532.pdf) to support businesses who are interested in consortia and supply chain partnerships.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01333 on 21 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-01336 on 20 July 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

During 2009-10, 22 local authorities approved 292 grants totalling £187,285 to assist home owners with lead plumbing repairs. The most recent data available on grants for lead plumbing repairs is shown in the following table.

2009-10

These statistics are published online at www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/IMP1b4.

Minimum timescales allowed for suppliers to prepare their bids for competitions are set out in the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, as directed by European Law. The timescales set out in the Regulations are the minimum permissible and public sector bodies should take account of all the circumstances, especially the complexity of the requirement and the time required to prepare a tender, when fixing time limits in a tender process.

The Regulations form part of the Procurement Journey which sets out procurement best practice guidance for the public sector and is published on the Scottish Government’s website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/buyer-information/spdlowlevel

All Scottish public bodies, including Scottish Government agencies are encouraged to use the Procurement Journey.