Motherwell and Wishaw MSP John Pentland has challenged First Minister Alex Salmond to act following the exclusion of Scottish-produced steel from the contracts for the new Forth Crossing.
Mr Pentland raised the issue as an emergency question at First Minister’s Question Time in the Scottish Parliament, asking why Transport Scotland had denied that there was any bid involving Scottish steel firms, and looking for a meeting with the First Minister and the CEO of Tata to discuss the situation.
“I have been informed that one bid in relation to the Forth crossing included the supply of steel by Tata from the Dalzell plant in Motherwell. That would have been a major boost for employment in my constituency and in Lanarkshire, and for Scotland’s steel industry.
“Will the First Minister therefore explain why Transport Scotland has said that no Scottish firms were involved? Will he meet Tata’s chief executive to discuss the Scottish steel industry’s role?”
The First Minister said that he was willing to facilitate a Ministerial meeting with Tata, but rather than address the issue of the Transport Scotland statement, talked about other contracts that had gone to Scottish firms.
Speaking later, Mr Pentland said:
“The answer was no, he couldn’t explain why Transport Scotland denied the existence of a bid that included Scottish steel plants. Maybe he will find out now that he has been put on the spot.
“I’m glad that other contracts are going to Scottish firms, but really, when you are building a bridge, steel is a fairly major component, and if the Scottish Government wants to use capital investment to stimulate the Scottish economy, you would think they might have done more to secure work for Scottish people. We need to seriously look at what has happened here. They seem to have been totally unaware of the Scottish participation in the bidding, which casts doubt on their commitment to growing our economy.
“With 200 Scots losing their jobs every day, this contract would have been a much needed boost for employment locally but also a major boost for Scotland’s steel industry.
“Despite my questioning, the First Minister could not explain why Tata lost out on the multi-million contract.
“We need to look seriously at what has happened here. The SNP government seems to have been totally unaware of the Scottish participation in the bidding, which casts doubt on their commitment to growing our economy.”
