Question reference: S4W-27329
- Asked by: Margaret McDougall, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 4 September 2015
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Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 16 September 2015
Question
To ask Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact on the economy of North Ayrshire of the closure of Longannet power station given its commercial relationship with the Hunterston coal terminal and whether it has considered repurposing the terminal to protect jobs.
Answer
An economic development plan will be developed by the Longannet Taskforce, which was set up by the Scottish Government to support the workers, businesses and communities impacted by Scottish Power’s decision to close Longannet. One of the plan’s strands will focus on identifying how best to mitigate the effects on the supply chain of which Hunterston coal terminal is a key part.
Because of the specific impact at Hunterston, Scottish Enterprise, which is taking forward the supply chain work, has organised an on-site meeting at Hunterston. The meeting will help to gather detailed information on the economic impact of Longannet’s closure and will inform the ongoing engagement between senior Scottish Enterprise officials and Peel Ports Group to discuss what support might be available to help Peel Ports prepare for the closure of Longannet.