This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Regional Selective Assistance grants
22/01/2003
Businesses accepted £12 million of Regional Selective Assistance grants during the period from October to December last year, according to the RSA's latest quarterly report published today.
Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Iain Gray today called on eligible Scottish companies to use Regional Selective Assistance as a way of growing and developing their businesses.
Figures contained in the document show that £12 million of Executive grant offers would help projects planned to create and safeguard over 1,500 jobs.
Mr Gray said:
"Growing Scottish businesses, investing in Scottish ideas and skills and getting Scotland growing again are top priorities of this Executive. I'm therefore absolutely delighted to see the diversity of companies that are benefiting from RSA support."
The £12 million in RSA grant offers accepted by businesses during the period October to December last year, will:
- be shared by 43 businesses
- encourage planned investment of £80 million into the Scottish economy
- support the planned creation and safeguarding of over 1,500 jobs
- be spread across a wide range of business sectors.
Commenting on the projects detailed in the report, the Minister said:
"From software development and high-tech commercialisation projects to the manufacture of bagpipes and kitchen sinks, RSA is helping to nurture our home-grown businesses as well as attracting inward investment.
"This two pronged approach means that we can continue to bring in high value, highly skilled jobs to Scotland from overseas, and ensure that we continue to get Scottish ideas out of our labs and into the marketplace..
"This report published today is indicative of the improvements that we have made in the communication and delivery of the RSA scheme. These have included new measures such as a dedicated website and the streamlining of decision-making for grant applications up to £250,000.
"These improvements are geared towards making sure that companies know about the potential benefits offered by RSA and ensuring that once applications are lodged they are dealt with as quickly as possible."
The Minister continued:
"I am convinced that RSA can play an integral part in business growth and improving the Scottish economy. I hope that more Scottish companies will take the time to visit the RSA Scotland website and find out if the may be eligible to apply."
The report is the second to be published under new measures designed to ensure greater public reporting and awareness of RSA grants and their benefits. Companies listed in the latest RSA quarterly report include:
Carron Phoenix Ltd., specialises in the manufacture of stainless steel, synthetic and granite kitchen sinks. With some 400 employees at Falkirk it is the largest producer of granite sinks in the world. An RSA grant of £800,000 was offered to help expand its capacity and meet increased demand for its products in the US. Carron Phoenix, now in Swiss ownership, was formed following a management buyout of the Carron Company, one of Scotland's oldest manufacturing operations.
Essient Photonics Ltd., founded in March 2002, was the first company to benefit from Scottish Enterprise's 'Proof of Concept Fund'. Based in Bellshill, it was formed to commercialise opto-electronics technology developed at the University of Glasgow. The Executive offered RSA of £1million to help the company exploit this world-class telecommunications technology.
Peri-dent Ltd. ultimately owned by Jordan AS of Norway, is one of Europe's leading developers and manufacturers of dental floss and oral hygiene products. RSA support of £350,000 was offered to enable Peri-dent to expand its production at Tweedbank, in the Borders, to service a projected increase in sales of its floss and tape products in the UK and Europe.
Edrington Distillers Ltd. distils, blends and bottles a range of Scotch whisky products. Key brands include The Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark, The Macallan and Highland Park. An RSA grant of £500,000 was offered to help the company to install a new, high-speed bottling line and to upgrade existing lines at its Glasgow site, to service a projected increase in sales to South Korea.
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry. It provides discretionary grants for investment projects that will create or safeguard jobs in Assisted Areas - areas designated for regional aid under European community law. The scheme is administered by the RSA Scotland unit of the Scottish Executive. For further information on the scheme go to www.rsascotland.gov.uk.
The report on RSA grant offers accepted October - December 2002 is available to download from www.rsascotland.gov.uk. Reports are issued on a quarterly basis, and the Executive's first annual report on the RSA scheme will be published later this year.
Payment of RSA is made in instalments, typically over several years, provided that job and project expenditure targets are met. Not all projects will proceed or be completed. The amounts quoted above and in the report, therefore, represent the maximum grant potentially payable if the project is satisfactorily completed, and not the amount actually paid to date. All job numbers given are based on firms' forecast figures at the time a grant is offered, and are subject to change depending on future economic conditions and other factors affecting the businesses concerned.