NICOLA Sturgeon has unveiled £100 million of extra funding to boost Scotland’s economy and create jobs following the turmoil caused by the Brexit vote.
The First Minister will make the money available to major building projects north of the Border that can start quickly, provide employment and support suppliers in a bid to avert a slowdown.
Her Government’s Capital Acceleration Programme will fast-track the financing of projects already in the pipeline and exists as an addition to £6bn of infrastructure works currently under construction, including the new Forth Road Crossing linking Edinburgh and Fife, due to be completed in May next year.
Three key planks of Sturgeon's protection plan for the economy
Business groups and trade unions welcome Sturgeon's £100m plan to combat Brexit turmoil
She has also set up a new information service as a single point of contact for firms seeking help, as well as a newly minted business network bringing together the Scottish Government, the Scotland Office, industry bodies and trade unions to manage the uncertainty.
The first project to benefit is an elective treatment centre to provide life-enhancing surgery, such as joint replacements, at the Golden Jubilee Hospital in Clydebank.
The First Minister announced the unit would receive £5m to allow work to proceed as she revealed her funding plan.
She also urged the UK Government to proceed with its own parallel economic stimulus package and provide certainty about the future of millions of pounds of structural funds from the European Union destined for building and infrastructure projects.
“As I have made clear since the EU referendum, the Scottish Government will pursue all possible options to protect Scotland’s relationship with the EU and ensure that our voice is heard,” she said.
“However, it is also important to act now to support and stimulate the economy.
“Scotland is and remains an attractive and stable place to do business, however, there is no doubt that the referendum outcome has created deep and widespread uncertainty, with the impact on jobs and investment already being felt.
“The UK Government has not yet taken any meaningful action to alleviate uncertainty or to boost confidence, and there are very real concerns that the damage to the economy and to jobs will be severe and long-lasting.”
In addition to the new Forth Road Crossing, other capital works announced by the Scottish Government in March include the first phase of the A9 dualling programme between Perth and Inverness, a new Acute District General Hospital in Dumfries and Galloway, a new Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, the electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail route and two new college campuses – the City of Glasgow College City Campus and the Ayrshire College Kilmarnock Campus.
The First Minister added: “Our Infrastructure Investment Plan is already delivering major infrastructure improvements, with projects worth almost £6bn currently under construction. We will now inject a further £100m of spending this year to accelerate planned projects.
“We will also provide business with wider support to help them navigate the uncertainty caused by the referendum result. Business organisations have asked for a single point of contact and we will shortly launch a new Business Information Service that will provide up-to-date information and advice, and answer questions from individual businesses, going some way to alleviate business concerns about the future.
“We will also establish a new Post-Referendum Business Network, to work more closely and collaboratively with the main business bodies, the STUC and the Scotland Office to help shape future policy and support for business.
“These three initial measures will help support new and existing jobs and alleviate business concerns at this difficult time.
“However, it is important that the UK Government also acts and I am calling today for urgent action on two fronts. Firstly, early assurance about EU Structural Funds and, second, a UK-wide stimulus package which, through consequential funding, would enable the Scottish Government to do more to accelerate capital spending.”
The announcement was backed by trade union representatives as well as organisers representing employers and businesses.
The Government is selecting more projects to benefit from the scheme and is taking account of their economic impact, completion dates and locations as part of the assessment process. Details of successful schemes will be available in due course.
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