Capital spending boosts the economy

4th February 2013

Investment by the Scottish Government in schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure is set to support 40,000 jobs across Scotland this year, Nicola Sturgeon said today.

The Deputy First Minister was speaking as the Scottish Government published an update to its multi-billion Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP), first unveiled in December 2011.

It contains infrastructure projects, costing more than £20 million, that are planned and underway across Scotland up to 2030.

The capital investment programme is on course to spend £3.1 billion for 2012/13, which is estimated to support more than 40,000 jobs across the Scottish economy.

This figure is set to rise further in 2013/14 when a total of £3.4 billion of capital investment is planned. Several projects will be completed and become operational in 2013/14, including the Aberdeen Community Health and Care Village, Lasswade and Eastwood High Schools, Dumbarton Academy, Auchmuty High School, and Glasgow School of Art estate development.

We also expect significant progress to be made on the NPD programme in 2013/14 with major projects such as the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary entering procurement and others such as Inverness College and City of Glasgow College moving into construction.

The IIP update also looks at progress in 2012. Key points are:

Over 2012, nine of the major infrastructure projects included in the IIP, with a value of over £600 million, were completed and are now in use;
Good progress on major projects such as the Forth Replacement Crossing, the new South Glasgow Hospitals and Scotland's Schools for the Future programme;
Newly updated - and more detailed - investment pipelines -- containing 30 major programmes and over 100 individual 'live' projects.
The Deputy First Minister made the announcement on a visit to the £800 million Glasgow Southern Hospitals project.

At the site, Ms Sturgeon welcomed fresh figures which show the project has created 390 new jobs for people in and around Glasgow as at the beginning of January 2013.

Ms Sturgeon said:

"This Government is determined to invest in Scotland's infrastructure - our schools, roads and hospitals - both to stimulate growth in the short term and lay the foundations for long term success.

"Today's updated plan demonstrates exactly how we will do that, despite substantial and ill thought through cuts in our capital budget from Westminster of some 26 per cent.

"We are on course to spend £3.1 billion on projects in communities across Scotland in 2012/13, supporting some 40,000 jobs.

"That is good news for our economy and our construction industry, which we know benefits from the certainty and vision of the future the Infrastructure Investment Plan provides.

"While everything in the IIP is possible under the current constitutional arrangements, with the full powers of independence and prudent use of borrowing powers, we could bring forward investment more quickly - making a very substantial difference to our economy both now and in the future."

The updated Infrastructure Investment Plan Progress Report, the updated Programme Pipeline and the Project Pipeline are available at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/18232/IIP