Deputy First Minister will today (Tuesday) call on
UK Ministers to take “urgent and decisive action” to deploy £200
million they have committed to Grangemouth to ensure that high
quality jobs and economic opportunity are not lost.
She 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.
The Deputy First Minister is expected to say:
“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.
“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.”
