Finance Secretary John Swinney yesterday renewed Scotland's claim to £150m of unspent Fossil Fuel Levy.

Giving the David Hume Institute lecture, Mr Swinney emphasised the need to allocate every pound of available public money to support Scottish economic recovery.

Speaking on 'Scotland's financial future' Mr Swinney will expand on the text of a letter to Chancellor Alistair Darling calling for bold targeted measures to be taken at next week's budget.

He said: "I have written to the Chancellor urging him to take bold targeted measures at the Budget. We want him to take the steps that will enable us to provide a boost to the Scottish economy and support employment and output at this critical time.

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"I have also urged the Chancellor to make available to the Scottish Government, Scotland's resources from the Fossil Fuel Fund. This fund currently stands at £150m and is intended to support investment in renewable energy but is locked in a Treasury bank account."

Mr Darling said such investment would provide a vital boost to the Scottish economy at this time. However, under current HM Treasury rules the Scottish Government is unable to access these funds without detriment to other spending across the wider Scottish Block.

"At a time when the UK Government is borrowing billions, it is right that we should be able to make full use of Scotland's resources. Freeing up these millions would deliver a huge boost to our renewables sector," he said.

Fossil Fuel Levy funds are not available to the Scottish Government as spending in addition to existing budgets.

(GK/JM)