Labour urged to act on £200m Grangemouth pledge – Daily Business

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes will today call on UK Ministers to take “urgent and decisive action” to start spending the £200 million committed to repurposing the Grangemouth site or risk missing out on opportunities.

Ms Forbes will also use a parliamentary debate on supporting Scottish industry to urge progress on the Acorn Carbon Capture project at Peterhead after the UK Government announced further funding for carbon capture projects in England without mention of finance or progress for the Scottish Cluster.

“I welcome the UK Government’s confirmation that £200 million has been ringfenced within the National Wealth Fund to support the deployment of projects at Grangemouth,” she says.

“However, many of the proposals for the site outlined in Project Willow may not meet the current criteria being applied by the fund and we must not find ourselves in a position where good intentions are not translated into meaningful practice.

“I call on UK ministers to take urgent and decisive action to ensure its £200 million commitment is deployed. There must be clarity – and that clarity must be provided with the same urgency and decisiveness that we have now seen the UK Government show in respect of Scunthorpe – that these monies will be available for Grangemouth as soon as business needs it.

“We simply cannot risk the chance of high quality jobs and the prospect of new economic opportunities being lost forever.”

Jamie Greene, who will deliver his first speech since being appointed Lib Dems economy spokesman, will tell parliament that the other parties have failed to deliver.

“People deserve better than SNP neglect, Labour’s jobs tax and the Conservatives’ reckless unfunded promises,” he says.

The Tory defector will add that from Ferguson Marine to the Dalzell steelworks, the Bifab fabrication yards and the Alvance smelter at Lochaber, “the Scottish Government have thrown around hundreds of millions of pounds with precious little to show for it.”

Mr Greene says there is no long-term industrial strategy in Scotland.

“The Scottish Government takes a reactive approach, intervening when it thinks there is a photo opportunity.

“We need a real macroeconomic strategy which puts value for money and realistic exit strategies at its core. It’s now time for Scotland to fully embrace the industries of the future once and for all, and I will hold the SNP’s feet to the fire over its dismal economic record.”