Scottish Independence: Osborne Announcing £18m in Glasgow Investments Ahead of Referendum

UK Chancellor George Osborne will unveil £18m in funding for life sciences and a new centre for business in Glasgow, which is set to help create 30,000 jobs, ahead of the referendum.

According to excerpts of his speech, Osborne will tell 200 political and business leaders at a conference on 22 July that the billions in funding will help bolster Scotland's lucrative science sector, even though there is the risk of the country breaking away from the rest of the UK later this year.

The new £64m (€81m, $109m) Stratified Medicine Imaging Centre of Excellence, which will provide life science research and innovation facilities at the New South Glasgow Hospitals Campus, will receive £16m from the government.

Meanwhile, £1.2m will go towards a £4m MediCity Scotland facility bring new healthcare services and medical technology to the market.

Elsewhere, another £1.7m will help bolster the Centre for Business Incubation, Development and Recovery in Tontine House in Glasgow's Merchant City.

The remaining portion of the funding is pegged to help local partners in Glasgow, including the Scottish government, Scottish Funding Council, Glasgow City Council, the University of Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde, with other projects.

"This funding builds not only on the £1bn of Scottish government investment in the new Southern General Hospital without which these new life sciences investments would not be possible, but also on the excellent reputation of Scotland's universities which make Scotland the best educated country in the European Union," said Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney.

"The Scottish government has committed to match in full the funding announced last month for Glasgow's City deal, a proposal which we understand consists of just £15m a year for the first five years, with future years' funding contingent on a review at the end of the first five-year period.

"As well as matching the UK government funding now, we will also guarantee this funding to Glasgow when Scotland becomes independent."

Scottish people will vote in an independence referendum on 18 September, 2014, and will be asked the straight "yes/no" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

The referendum period started on 30 May.