Matheson wants to know where Boris’s promised £300m will go

Infrastructure minister Michael Matheson (who's Falkirk West's MSP) wants to know how much of a promised £300m pot is coming to Scotland - and who will benefit.

In July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the extra funds for economic growth deals across the devolved nations, but did not set out what Scotland’s share will be and where it will be invested.

Now Mr Matheson, in his role as Scottish Government infrastructure secretary, is asking how much of the total Scotland will get and - crucially - how the money will shared out.

He said: “I am glad the UK Government has committed to match the Scottish Government’s ambition on 100 per cent coverage of growth deals in Scotland – this is something that we have been seeking for some time.

“However, it is unclear how this £300 million investment in growth deals will be split – and whether it will meet the ambitions of Argyll and Bute, Falkirk and the Islands, whose growth deals are progressing.

“For these reasons, I am calling on the UK Government to clarify how the funding will be divided amongst the devolved nations, so that we are able to work together to harness the full potential of our regional economies through Scotland’s growth deals”.

He added: “We will of course seek to work in partnership to develop these deals, and will commit to matching the UK Government’s investment – as we have done on all deals to date.

“This will ensure that we are able to deliver a package of transformational investment and add to our existing commitment of investing more than £1.8 billion over the next ten to 20 years in city region and growth deals and related investments.”