Health and homes at heart of SNP agenda:
By Paul Hutcheon
Scottish Political Editor

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon yesterday announced a £25m package for a new generation of council houses.

The deputy first minister said the cash would be given to local authorities as a way of incentivising house-building in the social sector.

She also backed a heart screening pilot project for athletes, following the death of Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell.

The initiatives were unveiled at the SNP's spring conference in Edinburgh - the first since the Nationalists' election victory last May Sturgeon last year backed an end to the "right to buy" for new council tenants, which is a measure she believes necessary to boost social housing.

She told delegates: "There's little point investing in new council houses just for them to be sold off under the right to buy.

"So let me confirm our government will introduce legislation to end the right to buy for new social build houses."

Meanwhile, the £100,000 initiative to combat sudden cardiac death among athletes will be introduced in the West of Scotland, offering those over 16 a free heart screening test.

Sturgeon said: "Opinion is mixed about the effectiveness of screening and there is a real need to develop a proper evidence base.

"Professional sports men and women often access screening tests through their sporting bodies, but there is currently no access at all for non- professionals. So I can announce today that the government is working with the Scottish Football Association to establish a pilot programme that will provide, for the first time, a free screening service for amateur athletes in Scotland."

SNP delegates also heard debates on nuclear weapons, income tax and the UK government policy on cluster bombs.

Today they will hear a speech by first minister Alex Salmond, who will set a target of tripling the number of SNP MPs at Westminster from six to 20.

Winning 20 seats would be the SNP's best result at a UK level, surpassing the 11 seats won in 1974.

Labour's shadow communities minister Johann Lamont said: "This is absolutely typical of the SNP's approach to housing and government in general - at every opportunity they opt for spin over substance.

"The SNP have consistently refused to set a target to increase the number of socially rented properties in Scotland. They continue to claim more houses' need to be built but this is a simplistic approach that Shelter Scotland have already voiced their unease at."