Chamber and committees

Arrangements for thedistribution of the lottery sports fund in Scotland would be consideredalongside consideration of the future of sportscotland.

Primary legislation relatingto the National Lottery is of course reserved to Westminster. However, there isextensive Executive devolution within the terms of the Concordat agreed betweenthe Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Scottish Executive. Thesedevolved powers include the provision for Scottish Ministers to change lotterydistributors and their percentage shares within the overall Scottish arts andsport percentages as set out in the National Lottery etc Act 1993 (amended).

I refer the member to thequestion S3W-1699 answered on 23 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member toquestion S3W-1701 answered on 23 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to thequestion S3W-1701 answered on 23 July 2007. All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at:http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

I refer the member to thequestion S3W-1699 answered on 23 July 2007. Cabinet Secretaries and theirMinisters will take the decisions on public bodies within theirresponsibilities, in line with the principles and approaches developed over thesummer.

All answers to written parliamentaryquestions are available on the Parliament's website the search facility forwhich can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

As the Cabinet Secretary forFinance and Sustainable Growth announced on 24 May 2007, we intend to take action to achieve a simpler, smallergovernment in Scotland, de-cluttering and simplifying thepublic service landscape. Clarity about the role of agencies and non-departmentalpublic bodies will be a crucial element of this approach.

To achieveconsistency in our decisions on specific public bodies, we will develop a setof principles and approaches over the summer, on which we will provideParliament with further details later this year.

It is important that we takedecisions on the future of both organisations through a robust and properprocess, to ensure that those decisions are clear and transparent, provideclarity for staff and stakeholders, and also contribute to simplifying andenhancing the delivery of public services in Scotland. We will take time toconsider the issues properly, consulting both organisations, trade unions andother key stakeholders, including ensuring that the relevant ParliamentaryCommittee has an input into the process before the final decisions are taken.

Funding for disability sportis provided by sportscotland to the sport’s governing body Scottish Disability Sport.Funding is based on the sport’s development plan and is determined by the boardof sportscotland.

Decisions on the 2007 SpendingReview will be announced later in the year.

The Scottish Government willlook closely at the benefits for the people of Scotland which might be achievedfrom any new initiatives. The Scottish Government wants to help more individualsand families to meet their ownership aspirations and is considering a range of measuresto achieve this. In addition to development of the Scottish Housing Support Fundfor shared equity provision announced on 21 June, we are also considering grantsto first-time buyers.

The framework underpinning anyinitiative or programme which aims to target resources on those in need will varyaccording to the context.