Fife Taskforce meeting update

1 May 2015 02:02 PM

Joint statement from Scottish Government and Fife Council

The first meeting of the Fife Taskforce met yesterday following the announcement that Tullis Russell in Markinch has gone into administration with the loss of 325 jobs.

Speaking after the meeting at St Margaret’s Church Hall in Glenrothes the Taskforce Co-Chairs Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Fife Council Leader David Ross said yesterday:

“We are committed to working together with key public and private bodies, workforce representatives and local politicians to do all we can to support those who have been made redundant and are affected by the decision during this difficult time.

“It is essential that we act quickly and at today’s meeting we agreed a range of practical actions including:

• The administrator (KPMG) is continuing to explore all commercial options for the plant, with support from key public sector agencies. This will continue whilst viable options remain;
• Ensuring those made redundant get the support they need at this difficult time is vital and PACE is already on site providing practical support to employees and we have arranged a specific support event on Wednesday 6 May;
• Engaging with the private sector as we recognised that they will want to do all they can to help. We are organising, with the Fife Economy Partnership, a joint event with major employers to agree what they can do and we are writing to the business organisations to see what assistance their members can offer.

“Finally, we want to maintain focus and momentum and agreed to meet again in 2 weeks to agree our draft action plan to support economic growth and job creation in central Fife. That plan will identify what will be delivered, including resources available to support that delivery. The Scottish Government has already announced an initial £6 million of financial support. Other members of the Taskforce will look to see what resources they can bring to support work in the area.”

Notes To Editors

For further response to the situation at Tullis Russell, please visit:

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Tullis-Russell-Papermakers-Limited-1878.aspx

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/Initial-6-million-to-support-Fife-Taskforce-1883.aspx