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This is for NHS boards to manage.

However, to help them do so, Health Facility Scotland''s Catering Advisory Group have recently taken on responsibility for monitoring NHS boards'' food waste. It will collate information on food waste to benchmark performance and support waste reduction by sharing best practice.

The Better Together Patient Experience Programme is currently undertaking a national survey (launched in January 2010) which includes a question on hospital food. This information will provide the basis for boards to consider whether more detailed research is required locally on the issues. Most NHS boards already conduct local patient experience or patient satisfaction surveys but it is not possible to confirm the detail of these.

The Better Together Patient Experience Inpatient Survey is one of the ways that NHSScotland will gain a better understanding of inpatients'' experiences. The information collected will be pivotal in helping improve and shape the way care and services are delivered in hospitals across Scotland. This survey will be sent to approximately 64,000 randomly selected inpatients who have had at least one overnight stay within the 14 territorial NHS boards or the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.

I have asked Michael Cameron, Acting Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond.

His response is as follows:

The Scottish Housing Regulator publishes performance standards and self-assessment guidance on factoring on our website. We expect landlords to follow the principles of these standards in their activities and where appropriate we test landlord performance against these during our inspections.

Since March 2009 the Scottish Government has been working with key industry, consumer and housing stakeholders (including the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations) to establish a national accreditation scheme for residential property managers. The scheme will be voluntary, industry-led and open to all sectors offering property management and land maintenance services (housing associations, local authorities, private firms, sheltered housing and land maintenance companies “ including land owning land maintenance companies).

I have asked Michael Cameron, Acting Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond.

His response is as follows:

The Scottish Housing Regulator''s overall purpose is to regulate to:

protect the interests of current and future tenants, and other service users;

ensure the continuing provision of good quality social housing in terms of decent homes, good services, value for money and financial viability, and

maintain the confidence of funders.

We publish performance standards and self-assessment guidance on factoring. We expect landlords to follow the principles of these standards in their activities. Where appropriate or when concerns have been raised by service users we test landlord performance against these principles during our inspections and other regulatory engagement.

Our analysis of registered social landlords finances includes an assessment of the impact any factoring activities have on their core business. We will discuss any concerns that may arise from this assessment with the landlord.

I have asked Michael Cameron, Acting Chief Executive of the Scottish Housing Regulator to respond.

His response is as follows:

Some registered social landlords set up subsidiaries to run their factoring services. These subsidiaries are not subject to our full financial analysis. However, from the information submitted to us by registered social landlords operating in Glasgow and the West of Scotland we know that in 2008-09 they received income of around £10.6 million for providing services to owners of around 58,000 properties. This equates to an average annual charge of £183 per property or £45 per quarter. We have however included Glasgow Housing Association''s subsidiary in that £10.6 million figure due to its material effect on the sector.

It is likely that the figure of £10.6 million above covers administrative charges and the costs of routine factoring services but not all the costs of major capital works recharged to owners.

The information requested in question S3W-29209 was provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49810) on 21 December 2009 and released by them on 23 December 2009.

The information requested in question S3W-29208 was provided to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 49810) on 21 December 2009 and released by them on 23 December 2009.

Details of all unsuccessful bids will be published on the Scottish Government website by mid December. I will, at that time, be in a position to provide the detailed information requested. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. Number 49811).

Details of all unsuccessful bids will be published on the Scottish Government website by mid December. I will, at that time, be in a position to provide the detailed information requested. I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament''s Information Centre (Bib. number 49811).

All of the bids that secured funding from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund were found to have met the initial eligibility criteria.