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Scottish Office

Answer

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what further measures he will take to develop the economy in the Scottish Borders. [49133] Mr. Wilson: In recognition of the problems being experienced in the Scottish Borders economy, most recently with the redundancy announcement by Dawson International this week, I have today announced a package of support to help the economy diversify and modernise. This includes an additional £1 million for Scottish Borders Enterprise's budget this year, a rise of 12 per cent.; the setting up of a new Rural Inward Investment Team within Locate in Scotland to help attract investment to areas like the Borders; a commitment to consider providing the Borders with a reallocation of unused EC structural funds; a commitment to best endeavours to find additional funding if Scottish Borders Enterprise can bring forward further viable projects; and a commitment to keep discussions with Dawsons open and to assist them in their redevelopment. These measures are in addition to on-going assistance to the Borders, including the recent designation of Hawick as a Property Employment Support Programme (PESP) area, which allows greater flexibility to the local enterprise company to assist property projects in areas of social deprivation. The recently announced expansion of the telecoms infrastructure in the Borders will also provide an important selling point for the area. In response to the call for a South of Scotland Convention I will bring together in the near future the elected members and other relevant bodies to meet on a one-off basis to discuss further the area's economy and needs. The future requirement for such a forum must however be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

315 c228-9W; 49133

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Investment Government assistance Economic situation EU grants and loans Scotland Locate in Scotland Scottish Borders Enterprise Scottish Borders

Contains statistics

Yes