Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) plays a key role in meeting the Executive's commitment to closing the opportunity gap by helping to create and sustain jobs in the assisted areas of Scotland, thereby addressing areas of relatively high disadvantage and unemployment.This commitment has recently been further strengthened by a direct link with the New Deal scheme, under which firms can be offered a premium rate of grant as a targeted incentive to recruit and retain New Dealers.The Executive is also committed to sustainable development, and in the recent spending review we committed to assessing all RSA applications involving grant offers of £2 million and over against the Executive's sustainable development objectives.