Chamber and committees

Officials followed standard operating procedures for the grant scheme. In these particular circumstances funds remain within the national freight grant budget for use by other eligible projects.

We have not set any targets for the use of products meeting the standards of recognised farm-assured schemes in school meals. As of 4 August 2008, under the Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) (Scotland) Act 2007, education authorities and managers of grant-aided schools will have a duty to have regard to guidance issued by Scottish ministers on the application of the principles of sustainable development when providing food or drink or catering services in schools.

The existing guidance, Integrating sustainable development into procurement of food and catering services, is available on the Scottish Government website at:

www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Procurement/PublicProcurement/ProcurementPolicy/coporate-responsibility/Integrationofsusdevinfood.

The guidance contains advice on various sustainable development issues and how to pursue these various issues whilst staying within EU procurement law. This includes advice that, wherever possible, public bodies should specify food which has been produced in accordance with the standards laid down in recognised assurance schemes. We are currently refreshing the guidance and intend to reissue it during the summer.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran anticipate that, subject to obtaining the Building Warrant and favourable tenders, site preparation work will begin in July 2008.

We have made two awards of freight facilities grant since May 2007: £192,285 to CSP Forestry and £58,600 to UPM Tillhill for a jointly operated line-side loading project at Rannoch for the transport of timber by rail to Irvine.

The budget to support the freight industry, including freight facilities grants, is £14.9 million in each of the next three years.

Announcement of the 2008-09 affordable housing investment programme will be made shortly. Plans for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be announced nearer the time.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

The Scottish Prison Service as a public body must comply with the European Union Procurement Rules - all SPS food supplies are purchased in accordance with these rules which do not permit any national or regional bias which would allow the SPS to specify locally produced food.

This information is not held centrally.

This information is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-12117 on 1 May 2008. 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/webapp/wa.search.