Question reference: S6W-25645
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 6 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the Coalfields Regeneration Trust small grants were deemed to be in breach of procurement rules.
Answer
Coalfields Regeneration Trust’s (CRT’s) grant for 2023-24 has been agreed following the principles of the Scottish Government’s latest grant management guidance which ensures adherence to the Scottish Public Finance Manual instructions. These state that contracts that include services to distribute grant funds must be awarded through genuine and effective competition. In light of that, the previous historical arrangement with CRT has been reviewed and the Scottish Government can no longer provide a proportion of the grant for CRT to use as a budget to then operate a small grant fund.
The Scottish Government’s procurement rules exist to ensure funds are spent in a way that delivers the most benefit to society. The Scottish Government is discussing with CRT other ways in which they can best support community organisations where these meet the regeneration outcomes and conditions of its existing grant award.