Diary

Thursday, 20th November 2008

Alex Salmond opens his Parliamentarian diary

The SNP government’s response to the current economic situation has seen us source £100 million of capital funding for affordable housing and extend our shared equity scheme for first-time buyers to all local authorities in Scotland.

In addition, we will continue to demand that Scotland gets the fair deal to which we are entitled. We have identified £1 billion of Scotland’s money that should be released right now to invest in services and jobs — for example, the £120 million of Scottish money from the Fossil Fuel Levy which sits untouched in an Ofgem bank account in London.

Despite the challenging economic circumstances we find ourselves in, I am in no doubt that a successful future lies ahead for Scotland. We have great potential in many areas, including renewable energy, where we have seen investment worth £1 billion in the past three months alone.

And in 2009 Scotland’s Year of Homecoming will be a chance for Scotland’s international family, and all who feel an affinity with our nation, to come back and reconnect with Scotland. With a spectacular programme of 160 events I am positive that our year-long celebration of the Scots diaspora will turn a threatened tourism downturn into a visitor boom.