To ask the Scottish Executive how much SMART:Scotland funding was allocated by the Improvement Service to assist the creation of North Lanarkshire Council’s approved trader scheme since its inception.

The SMART: SCOTLAND scheme, delivered by the Scottish Government’s Innovation and Investment Grants Division, has allocated no funding to North Lanarkshire Council’s Approved Traders Scheme.

The Improvement Service set up a SMART Ideas Fund with grants of up to £10,000 per project. Funding was awarded to North Lanarkshire Council to assist the creation of an Approved Traders Scheme. Information on the amount of individual grants is not held centrally, but details of the project are available on the Improvement Service website at:

http://www.improvementservice.org.uk/innovation-exchange/introduction/innovation-exchange-and-smart-ideas.html.

Further information can be obtained by writing to the Chief Executive of the Improvement Service.