SCOTTISH Finance Secretary John Swinney has demanded urgent measures from the UK Government to boost economic confidence.

He used a meeting of finance ministers from across the UK to call for more money to be spent on major infrastructure projects to stimulate the economy.

Mr Swinney called on the Treasury to provide an immediate capital stimulus to boost economic activity and support wider investor confidence.

He added: "An extra £5 billion in capital investment across the UK would allow us to provide an additional stimulus of more than £400 million to support employment in Scotland now."

His call came during talks with Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore at the finance quadrilateral meeting in Edinburgh. The devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland were also present.

It came on the day the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee held off from providing further stimulus to the UK economy.

It held interest rates at a record low of 0.5% for the 44th consecutive month.

Ahead of Chancellor George Osborne's autumn statement next month, Mr Swinney said: "A swift decision by the UK Government to increase capital investment to support jobs, construction and new infrastructure could deliver a real boost to all of our economies.

"It is imperative the Chancellor uses his autumn statement to respond to the current troubling economic situation and introduce urgent measures to restore confidence."

A Scotland Office spokesman said: "There is nothing to stop the Scottish Government delivering investment in Scotland with the powers it has."

He added the Scottish Government had received more than £1bn in additional funding since the 2010 spending review, with £730m of that earmarked for capital spending.