Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) will be used to create or safeguard around 1,000 jobs in Scotland, Enterprise Minister Jim Mather has said.

The comments were made after the latest quarterly report demonstrated that 25 Scottish businesses received a total of £8 million of RSA funding in the third quarter of 2008. This will support projects worth close to £37 million in total.

Mather commented: "During the global economic slowdown, every extra pound spent in our economy could protect a job or save a business.

"Regional Selective Assistance not only helps safeguard jobs, it encourages investment in new ventures which will help to position Scotland for a faster and stronger recovery."

He suggested RSA complements the work the Scottish Government has already been undertaking to make Scotland a more competitive business environment, such as cutting and ditching rates for small business, planning reform, and investment in affordable housing.