Chamber and committees

West Lothian Council has been an integral part of the Hall’s of Broxburn Task Force from its first meeting on 5 July when the company announced the consultation on closure.

We are working with West Lothian Council and Task Force members to provide the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative for staff affected. Representatives from PACE, led by Skills Development Scotland and comprising key partners including the Department of Work and Pensions, have been onsite 5 days per week since 24 August 2012 and have delivered 92 presentations to around 800 employees. PACE representatives have continued to liaise closely with the trade unions during delivery of PACE support for employees.

Support provided includes:

PACE Guides translated into Polish and Romanian, and a Polish-speaking adviser available to support staff;

specific CV support for Halls of Broxburn employees;

onsite and offsite resource centres offering one to one support for employees;

three jobs fairs organised for staff - the first of these will take place on
10 November with PACE Partners and local and national employers who have expressed an interest in recruiting Halls employees in attendance; and

the local colleges collaborating to develop a programme of learning that can be tailored to individual needs with the primary aim of boosting employment potential and earnings.

In addition we are in discussion with West Lothian Council and Task Force members on a recovery plan for the area to support those affected by the closure. All options will be explored in this process. The resulting plan will be agreed by the Task Force at its next meeting.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10393 on 5 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Ddefault.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10393 on 5 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Ddefault.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10393 on 5 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Ddefault.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10393 on 5 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Ddefault.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-10393 on 5 November 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Ddefault.aspx.

The Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, wrote to the Consul General of Poland on 27 August 2012 to advise him that, through our Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) initiative, we would do everything possible to support employees of Hall’s, with specific reference to the number of Polish workers employed there.

Representatives from our PACE initiative, led by Skills Development Scotland and comprising key partners including the Department of Work and Pensions, have been onsite five days per week since 24 August 2012 and have delivered 92 presentations to around 800 employees.

All employees have had access to information and guidance. For employees who are made redundant, the Department of Work and Pensions will be handling all individual claims via the Jobcentre Plus centre in Livingston to assess eligibility for support in line with UK Government legislation. Additional DWP staff will be made available to help process claims and appointments will be issued to employees in advance.

An overview of the infrastructure projects which the Scottish Government is currently supporting in the West Lothian area is included in the following table.

Since May 2007 the Scottish Government has provided funding for major projects within the West Lothian area, such as the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link (£375 million), which opened to passengers in December 2010, and the West Lothian Schools Public Private Partnership (£61 million) which became fully operational in August 2009. In addition, the Scottish Government allocated almost £86 million of capital funding to West Lothian Council between 2008-09 and 2012-13 through the local government finance settlement.

An overview of other projects and investments for which the Scottish Government has provided funding for in the West Lothian area is included in the following table.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise offered to buy the plant and lease it back to Vion Food Group along with a commercial loan in return for a long-term commitment from the company to provide employment at Hall’s of Broxburn.