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Protecting jobs
11/06/2009
The Scottish Government helped support, create and safeguard more than 800 Scottish jobs in the first quarter of 2009.
Twenty companies in Scotland accepted Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grants totalling more than £14 million between January and the end of March.
Offers accepted include:
- £125,000 for packaging firm Mailway (Northern) Ltd, to create 42 new jobs in Hillington
- £250,000 for Sutherland Consulting Ltd, an IT management consultancy services firm, to create 30 new jobs in Glasgow
Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
"Every pound spent in these challenging times could protect a job or save a business. That's why job creation schemes like RSA are so important to Scotland's economy.
"This is welcome news as we work hard to attract fresh inward investment to stimulate job creation.
"Although there can be no doubt about the scale of the economic challenge we face, these grants demonstrate that there are companies across Scotland that are continuing to grow and expand their business.
"It is crucial we support these businesses wherever we can. Combined with our comprehensive economic recovery programme, tools like RSA will be crucial in positioning our economy for a strong recovery.
"I look forward to seeing these projects progress, creating vital new jobs and helping to protect employment in areas right across Scotland."
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the Scottish Government's 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.
Payments of RSA are made in instalments, typically over several years, provided that job and project expenditure targets are met. The amounts quoted here and in the report represent the maximum grant potentially available if the project is satisfactorily completed, and not the amount actually paid to date. All job numbers 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 business concerned.