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Economy Summit
25/02/2009
An Economy Summit involving the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister and the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, and the territorial secretaries of state was held in London today.
First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond said:
"We had a good, businesslike meeting, and there is no doubt that we can work well together to help families and business during tough economic times. We have demonstrated that in the way we co-operated to accelerate capital spending - supporting nearly 5,000 jobs in Scotland - and are aligning the work of Skills Development Scotland, which is devolved, with Job Centre Plus offices, which come under the ambit of Westminster. I look forward to taking this approach forward as we deliver the Scottish Government's six-point recovery plan.
"But at a time when we are trying to save jobs, it is entirely wrong to put thousands of jobs at risk by cutting public spending in the teeth of a recession. Official Scottish Government figures show that a £500 million annual cut to public spending would destroy 8,700 jobs in Scotland right across the economy.
"Instead of prescribing exactly the wrong medicine for the budgets of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the UK Government should look to America - where President Obama is generating more resources for the States, because he knows this is the best way to tackle the economic downturn. Indeed, in the US stimulus package, 69 per cent of the money will go to the States.
"For example, the state of Maryland - which has a similar population to Scotland - will receive some £2.6 billion extra in the equivalent of our devolved spending areas, supporting 66,000 jobs over the next two years.
"Our job as First Ministers is to work in the best interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - which as well as co-operation across these islands, also means preventing these job-destroying cuts for the sake of all our people."