Governments remain committed to deals

The Scottish and UK Governments remain committed to the £1 billion Tay Cities deal.

The programme aims to kickstart the economies of Tayside and north-east Fife through a range of job creating programmes and schemes to attract inward investment.

Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross Councils are all working on the bid and are seeking £826 million from both governments.

They claim the 50 proposals put forward in the Tay Cities bid documents submitted in February, could create up to 15,000 new jobs.

Dundee West MP Chris Law called on the UK Government to reaffirm its commitment to the scheme last weekend.

A UK Government spokesman said: “In last year’s budget we made a clear commitment to work towards a Tay Cities deal.

“We look forward to continue working with the Scottish Government and local partners as the plan develops.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government remains fully committed to agreeing an ambitious and transformative Tay Cities Deal.

“The regional partners have produced a well-thought-through set of proposals and we look forward to agreeing a deal in due course.”

The backing came as Scottish Government finance minister Keith Brown warned delays to the Edinburgh and South East City Regional deal risked the economy losing out on millions of pounds of investment.

City deals for Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness are already in place, guaranteeing a boost for those local economies.