Thank you very much, convener. Ian Duncan and I appear together on many platforms, including the Scottish business growth scheme and various conferences, not least of which are those on city deals. We are delighted to be here. Ian Duncan reminded me that I danced at his wedding recently, although I cannot remember dancing with him, which is what he said.
We are here to talk about the city region deals. The Government believes that strengthening Scotland’s economy so that it benefits everybody in Scotland is the very definition of inclusive growth; for us it is front and centre of what we do. City region deals are one of the key economic levers: 83 per cent—that is 4.5 million people—of Scotland’s population live in the areas that are covered by existing or planned city region deals. According to the latest figures, from 2015, that same area equates to 86 per cent of Scotland’s total gross value added and 2.2 million jobs, which is 85 per cent of all Scottish jobs.
The Scottish Government is the biggest funder of city region deals in Scotland, having made commitments that are worth over £1 billion to date. The investments that we are making in city region deals will benefit Scotland as a whole by creating tens of thousands of jobs and upskilling labour markets, but they can do much more than that. They are based on proposals that have been developed by regional partners, harnessing local intelligence to identify what is needed to unlock inclusive growth. They can also act to galvanise key partners to come together to drive regional economies in ways that go well beyond the investments that they deliver. Crucially for us they focus on delivering inclusive economic growth.
Of course, our policy approach should not be, and is not, just about cities and regions although they are very important, as the figures that I mentioned show. For our economy and all of our people to flourish we need inclusive economic growth in all of Scotland, especially outside the traditional growth areas. Inclusive growth, by definition, is about opportunities for everybody. That is why the enterprise and skills review made it clear that we are expanding our regional economic policy to go beyond city deals to support the creation of regional partnerships across the country. As I told the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee last week, I have agreed to establish a centre for regional inclusive growth, which will provide a platform to share local and national data, analysis and evaluations. It will also help to support regional partnerships and city and region deals.
I am very pleased to be here and I am delighted that the committee is taking an interest in city deals at this early stage. I look forward to answering questions.