Open - Scottish Government

Scotland, supported by funding of £5 million over 2008, will create around an additional
4,000 classroom places, mainly at colleges, to remove pressures which have built up in
recent years, particularly since the enlargement of the EU.
Lastly, in October, universities and colleaes across Scotland have been given an additional
£100 million capital funding package, enabling progress to be made on projects such as
those at Dundee, Inverness, Forth Valley and Kilmarnock.
Social Enterprises
and the Voluntary Sector
In March, a new strateav and action plan intended to grow and develop social enterprise was
launched. The strategy,. Better business - a strategy and action plan for social enterprise in
Scotland, was drawn up by Communities Scotland. It highlights the contribution a social
enterprise business model can contribute to economic growth and business development
while at the same time meeting social objectives. Social enterprises aim to deliver services
focused on the needs of people, on the regeneration and empowerment of people in
deprived communities. It has several strategic objectives:
raising the profile and demonstrating
opening up markets to social enterprise
the value of social enterprise
• increasing the range of finance available to social enterprises
developing the trading capacity of social enterprises through better business support
In August, the Scottish Government made available additional economic development
support to social enterprises to help increase skills in order to maximise income generation,
secure investment in the business and provide more services for those who need them.
Support is to cover:
• Business, financial and investment readiness planning
• Staff development
• Board development/governance
• Market research and marketing
Legal support
Lastly, care workers across Scotland's voluntary sector are benefiting from more training and
development with funding going to 64 groups through the Scottish Government's Voluntarv
Sector Development Fund to improve staff training and support. The fund targets support at
small and medium-sized voluntary organisations which will help their staff meet standards for
registration with the Scottish Social Services Council.
Climate Change and Energy
A new Climate Chanae Bill to cut greenhouse emissions by 80 percent by 2050 is In
development.
In September, authorisation was given to the biggest wave-energy project in the world,
capable of generating electricity for around 2,000 homes. The project, owned by Scottish
Power and operated from the European Marine Enerav Centre in Orkney, would consist of
four 750 Kilowatt Pelamis wave-energy converters.
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