Children are not permitted to box until the year in which their 12th birthday falls.

The Official in Charge of Show, attending doctors and the Referee carry the responsibility for the safety of those taking part in boxing matches. The Head Coach of individual clubs carries the responsibility for the safety of those receiving coaching in community clubs and gyms.

Amateur Boxing Scotland Ltd is required to adhere to the medical standards as set by the Medical Commission of the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA), the world governing body. It is the responsibility of the General Council, the Medical Commission and the Official in Charge of Tournament to ensure the standards are complied with.

All funds distributed by the New Opportunities Fund in Scotland are subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office and are strictly monitored and controlled in accordance with its accountability requirements. These funds are exclusively distributed in support of programmes that are additional to other sources of funding.

The allocation of resources between Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom is a reserved matter. Scottish ministers provide policy direction as required to distributing bodies for the distribution of National Lottery funds in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-16899 on 16 August 2001.

Sport 21 recommended that local authorities should publish a strategic plan for sport and recreation for their areas. Such strategies are expected to include a playing field strategy as recommended in the National Planning Policy Guideline 11 on sport and recreation (NPPG 11). In a recent address to the Scottish Association of Directors of Leisure Services, I called on local authorities to quicken the pace in taking this work forward. sportscotland stands ready to assist local authorities with this work and is currently developing practical guidance on preparing playing field strategies.

In addition, the Scottish Executive is investing £300,000 to enable sportscotland to conduct, over the next two years, an audit of the condition of Scotland's stock of sports facilities. The results will inform strategies and plans for meeting future needs including those for pitch sports.This work is in addition to the significant lottery investment made through sportscotland in the development of sports facilities. At the end of July, 519 awards totalling £85.5 million had been made under the Lottery Sports Fund capital programme.

There are a number of ways in which the issue of providing access to indoor training facilities for elite athletes is being addressed. The Scottish Institute of Sport has nine programme sports for which it will provide not only a full time coach but also a programme budget which allows, among many other things, payment to be made to local partners for access to facilities. Institute athletes are on holistic training programmes which cover their sporting needs and their need for indoor and all weather training is dealt with in this context. A similar system exists for athletes identified at an Area Institute level who all have access to facilities in their local area as part of a holistic training programme. In addition, individual elite athletes can receive awards from the Lottery Sports Fund Talented Athlete Programme which allows them to buy time in appropriate facilities. The younger athletes are supported through the Junior Groups aspect of this programme. sportscotland provides support to governing bodies through their development grant aid process which can be used for national squad training. sportscotland also has ongoing dialogue with local authorities and with the Scottish Athletics Federation about the provision of adequate national facilities for athletics. In addition to this support from sportscotland, many local authorities still run independent, free or reduced cost access schemes for athletes performing at a national level.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17052.

I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-17052.