Ministers Agree Six Point Plan to Boost Scotland’s Economy

Linda Fabiani MSP, has given her approval to the Scottish Governments six-point plan to help the Scottish economy during the current financial uncertainty.

Earlier this week First Minister Alex Salmond chaired a meeting of his cabinet secretaries and junior ministers to discuss what measures the SNP government might take to tackle the difficult economic circumstances being faced at the moment.

At the meeting the government agreed a series of measures with the purpose of boosting development and helping households experiencing difficulties at the current time.

Ms Fabiani said:

“The message from the cabinet is that in the short term the wider economy is going to be impacted by these difficulties and it is absolutely essential that we look at ways to alleviate the burden being faced by people.

“Therefore the Scottish Government has developed a six-point plan to mitigate the impact of the downturn on the economy because there is a real threat to jobs and investment at this time.

“We have unfortunately just seen an increase in the latest unemployment figures in the Lanarkshire area and as a government we want the opportunity to challenge these circumstances.

“That is why we have already brought forward spending of up to £100 million on affordable housing and we would like to make a further announcement on affordable housing in the near future as well as bringing forward other capital spending plans.

“We are all to aware of the dire need for social housing in East Kilbride and investment in this area should help ease some of the difficulties the construction industry is starting is starting to feel.

“We hope to implement a £1billion reflationary package which would mean an investment of around £16.33million in the East Kilbride area alone.

Other areas the Scottish Government are looking to improve upon are:

· Boosting the crucial tourism industry with the year of Homecoming next year.
· Boosting the advice available to business and simplifying the planning system.
· Looking to improve energy efficiency in homes and improving financial advice to vulnerable households.
· Improve uptake of health benefit entitlements which can be worth up to £1,500 a year in some cases.
· There will also be additional measures to tackle fuel poverty, augmenting the existing programmes that the Government already has in place.

These measures come in the wake of calls for the UK Government to provide Scotland with a £1 billion funding package to help save the Scottish economy from recession, by accessing Scottish Government funds currently held at Westminster, such as the Fossil Fuel Levy and budget underspend. At the same time the Scottish Government will consider additional options within their devolved responsibilities to bring forward investment and support for economic activity, which will include the spending of £180m committed from European structural funds to stimulate the Scottish economy.