Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 3:03 pm on 30 October 2024.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the potential closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery and any economic impact that this may have. (S6O-03850)
I remind members of my voluntary declaration of my trade union interests.
As Richard Leonard will know, Petroineos announced on 12 September that refining would cease during the second quarter of next year. That is a commercial decision that was taken by the business alone and despite the joint efforts of the Scottish and United Kingdom Governments to secure those investments in the asset beyond 2025.
It is our understanding that the immediate impact of that decision will be the loss of around 400 full-time roles. We are all—jointly, as Governments—committed to doing all that we can to support the workforce during the transition period. That is why we announced the provision of tailored skills training at Forth Valley College, which is supported by both Governments and is targeted towards those who are directly impacted by the decision.
The cabinet secretary must know that the rate of unemployment in Grangemouth is already twice the national average and that this is a community that is already impoverished.
The statutory redundancy consultation closes in mid-December, so the clock is ticking, but there is still time to save these jobs. In the coming days, will the economy minister, together with the First Minister, intervene—just as I call on the UK Labour Government to intervene—to avert the redundancies and extend the life of Scotland’s only oil refinery? Will it do so not only in the interests of those workers, their families and this community but in the strategic interests of our country’s economy, energy security and national security?
Richard Leonard made an important point about the impact of the loss of those jobs on the local economy. That is precisely why, for the past few years, the Scottish Government has been doing everything in its power to save the jobs and to save refining at Grangemouth. We are still working to support individuals who are at risk of redundancy through the skills package that I talked about in my opening answer. The funding that we have put in place will allow Petroineos employees at Grangemouth to access the opportunity to reskill, and we will support them with new employment.
The long-term future for the site is precisely why we are involved with project willow. We have spent considerable sums of money during the past few years looking for a long-term future for Petroineos. This is a commercial decision. We are all keen to jointly ensure that there is a future for those workers, and we are working together to do that.
It is vital that we continue to support the workers based at Grangemouth and their families during this difficult time. I welcome the additional funding that the Scottish Government has provided through the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal. Will the cabinet secretary say more about how that will help to grow the regional economy and support the community and workers?
The £50 million that will be provided through the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal over the next 10 years is designed to unlock economic growth opportunities that will create the jobs that ensure that the unemployment rate is low and employment rate is high. We must not lose sight of economic inactivity.
Our investments in the growth deal include £2 million towards the sustainable manufacturing campus to allow the development of new technologies in the region and £12 million on the greener Grangemouth programme. The wider growth deal is expected to bring significant benefits during the coming year and to generate £628 million over the next 30 years.