The future of Remploy’s factories north of the border, including in Fife and Dundee, is to be discussed at Holyrood this week.
The conference at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, involving local authorities and the Scottish Government, was described by Fife’s three Labour MPs as a step forward in helping the two plants in the region.
Gordon Brown, Lindsay Roy and Thomas Docherty have vowed to save the Cowdenbeath and Leven factories, which are staffed by disabled people. They said a tripartite deal bringing together Fife Council and the Scottish and UK governments should form the basis of a rescue package.
Mr Brown said: “We welcome the decision to bring together all four local authorities affected by the sale of Remploy Textiles and Remploy Marine to discuss the current interdependency between the sites and whether there are possible options for the future that reach beyond local authority boundaries.”
Scottish Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing said he hoped to meet Work and Pensions Minister Iain Duncan Smith to discuss the Remploy Marine sites next month.
He promised his officials will consider how the development of business plans for the factories can be given assistance.
The MPs recently urged Westminster and Holyrood to stage a joint rescue bid involving Mr Duncan Smith, Mr Ewing and Fife Council.
While almost all of Remploy’s other 54 UK factories are closed or closing with no likelihood of being rescued, the Fife MPs say they have held talks with two potential buyers.