THE UK Government has been urged to take “urgent and decisive action” over the £200 million promised to Grangemouth workers as the closing date for the oil refinery approaches.
In February, the Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK Government would invest £200m into Grangemouth and that it should bring in “three times that” in private funding, bringing the total to £800m.
The financial package from the UK Government is an attempt to ensure that high-quality jobs and economic opportunity are not lost in the area.
However, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has urged Starmer to accelerate the 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.
At the time of the announcement, the SNP accused the Labour Government of treating Scotland as an afterthought.
On Tuesday, at a parliamentary debate on supporting Scottish industry, Forbes is expected to call on the UK Government to be more transparent with the funds ringfenced for Grangemouth.
She 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.”
Forbes is expected to add: “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.”
The Acorn project has been placed on a “track two” reserved list for future funding from the UK Government.
Earlier this month, business leaders in the north east urged ministers to treat Acorn as an “immediate priority”.
