The fourth meeting of the Fife Taskforce, co-chaired by Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Fife Council leader David Ross, has taken place to agree the detail of the next phase of an action plan that aims to support economic growth and job creation in Glenrothes and central Fife.
As well as hearing an update on the Tullis Russell paper mill administration and immediate support available for the workforce, detail of the overall direction of the taskforce’s action plan was agreed.
This includes local business growth, community regeneration, business infrastructure and future use of the Tullis Russell site.
The taskforce considered detailed proposals and discussed how the initial £6 million from the Scottish Government should be allocated for maximum impact.
The focus of the discussion was on supporting the workforce and it was noted that, of the employees who have been made redundant at Tullis Russell, 143 have secured employment while 286 have requested training from support agency Opportunities Fife.
Of these, 142 people have had their training requests fulfilled.
A local campaign has already been launched by Opportunities Fife to encourage those who have been affected to seek training and support.
The taskforce agreed allocations of:
Support for the workforce £1.5m from additional resources for a training fund to support individuals affected by recent redundancies in mid Fife;
Support for business growth £2m from additional resources for a range of interventions including support for companies in the Tullis Russell supply chain, creating a small business hub and establishing a central Fife business investment fund;
Community regeneration £0.25m from additional resources to support community and town centre projects in Glenrothes and the most affected communities in central Fife;
Business infrastructure and investment £2.25m from additional resources to explore future uses of the Tullis Russell site, including a long-term strategic assessment of the mid-Fife economy.