Michelin Tyre plc (Dundee)

– in the Scottish Parliament at on 8 November 2018.

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Photo of Shona Robison Shona Robison Scottish National Party

Will the First Minister take this opportunity to join me in paying tribute to the Michelin workforce and local managers in Dundee for showing such resilience, tenacity and flexibility in the face of previous and, of course, current challenges? Will she reaffirm her support and that of the Scottish Government, and do everything within her power and whatever is possible to help either to retain or to repurpose the plant, and save as many jobs as possible?

Finally, will the First Minister use her offices to persuade the United Kingdom Government to contribute, as a minimum, a further £50 million to the Tay cities deal in order to match Scottish Government funding?

Photo of Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party

I thank Shona Robison for her question and for engaging with Derek Mackay over the past few days to ensure that discussions with the local management at Michelin and the unions have been as constructive as they have been. Clearly, this week’s news has been devastating to the 845 workers at Michelin, their families and, of course, the wider community in Dundee, and my thoughts are with all of them at this time.

Let me be clear, as Derek Mackay was in the chamber earlier this week: we will do everything we can to find a sustainable future for the plant. Our absolute priority is to pursue options for the site to continue with commercial production, and we will leave no stone unturned in working with Michelin, Dundee City Council and other partners to secure a positive future for the plant, its workers and the wider community. I hope that we have the support of all parties in the chamber as we take that work forward.

We will continue to call on the UK Government to match the Scottish Government’s contribution to the Tay cities deal. As Derek Mackay told Parliament on Tuesday, the Scottish Government will continue to look at all reasonable suggestions for additional funding that it might provide, but a good place to start would be for the UK Government to commit an additional £50 million to match the contribution from the Scottish Government, and to ensure that all partners can look to invest the money for the benefit of the wider community. We will do everything possible to support Michelin, its workers and Dundee.