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The Scottish Government does not collect information which measures the ratio of wins to bids of individual SMEs competing for public works contracts.

Based on information submitted to the Scottish Government’s Procurement Information Hub, where the size of the supplier firm was known, spending on construction recorded by public sector bodies was £2.09 billion in 2011-12, of which 47% went to firms classed as SMEs. In 2010-11 it was £2.00 billion (44% to known SMEs) and in 2009-10 it was £1.97 billion (43% to known SMEs).

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15200 on 23 May 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Procurement Reform Bill will apply to the award of commercial contracts for goods, works and services, not to contracts of employment which involve a salary. Similarly, Public Contracts Scotland is not intended for contracts of employment.

The latest official statistics for enterprises operating in Scotland are available from the Scottish Government Businesses in Scotland 2012 publication. The publication shows that: As at March 2012, there were 56,720 enterprises in the construction sector. Of these, 99.8 per cent were classed as either small or medium in size.

The Children and Young People’s Allergy Network has recurring funding from 2011-12 for a lead clinician and administrator. An application for the formalisation of the network’s future status as a national managed clinical network will be considered by the National Specialist Services Committee in August 2013.

Information on the number of pupils with asthma or a severe allergy are not collected or held centrally.

Pupils individual health care needs, and the plans to meet these healthcare needs, which include emergency procedures, determine the medication which is held in schools. The specific information requested is not held centrally.

As the employer of staff in schools who administer medication to pupils this is a matter for education authorities. The guidance on the administration of medicines in schools makes clear that it is for education authorities to ensure that their insurance/indemnification arrangements provide full cover for staff who volunteer to administer medication within the scope of their employment.

The guidance on the Administration of Medicines in Schools recommends education authorities should liaise with NHS boards to ensure that all staff involved with pupils with health care needs have received a basic understanding of those needs and to ensure staff who are willing to administer medication to pupils receive the appropriate level of training, provided by the school health team, supplemented as required by health specialists.

The guidance also indicates that training for staff should include the recognition of the signs and symptoms of mild and severe allergic reactions, first aid procedures including the protection of airways and the recovery position, administration of medication including the use of auto-injectors and emergency procedures.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-15688 on 26 June 2013. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.