JIM LOGUE Making real progress in North Lanarkshire

One of the ways we are committed to improving communities in Airdrie and Coatbridge is by growing our economy.

Economic figures – as we saw last week at Scottish Government level – can be dry and open to interpretation.

But figures we have recently seen absolutely show that we are making real progress in North Lanarkshire.

The latest figures released reveal that the level of vacant industrial property in North Lanarkshire has fallen further than in any region in Scotland.

Between 2014 and 2018, more than two million square feet of industrial space was sold or let in North Lanarkshire, with property sales totalling £24 million.

And the vacancy rate for industrial property is now only 6.8 per cent, demonstrating that most available property is being bought, or let, very quickly. This matters, because it shows that businesses have confidence in North Lanarkshire.

They have confidence in the council in terms of the support we can make available to them and, crucially, they have confidence in the people of North Lanarkshire to provide staff and other services to those businesses.

We will continue to invest heavily to attract businesses of all sizes to the area. The business centre at One Wellwynd is a perfect example of the type of investment the council can make to support economic growth.

In the last four years, Fusion Assets – a council-owned company set up to encourage growth – has developed 11,000 square feet of industrial space at three sites in Coatbridge, Bellshill and Newhouse.

These are currently let to a range of businesses, including start-ups, local companies and bigger firms, and Fusion has plans for a further 360,000 square feet of space.

But it’s not just physical infrastructure we concentrate on; ensuring that our young people have opportunities in the context of employment is just as important.

That’s why I was hugely encouraged by the exam results achieved by pupils across North Lanarkshire when they were announced this month. Almost a third of our young people are achieving three or more Highers in S5. That’s almost double the rate recorded 10 years ago.

Also doubled is the number of pupils achieving Advanced Highers.

There’s no doubt that the quality of education we are providing is improving all the time, and that makes future employment much more likely for our young people.

Add these impressive statistics to the fact that our gross value added per head (a measure of economic success) is the fastest growing in Scotland, and there are reasons why I can say that our approach is working for North Lanarkshire.

But I am not complacent. I want to ensure that North Lanarkshire is the place to live, learn, work and invest in, and visit.

My administration will keep finding new ways to do that.

Almost a third of our young people are achieving three or more Highers in S5... almost double the rate 10 years ago

Impressed Mr Logue, pictured here handing out prizes at Airdrie school St Margaret’s High’s S1-3 awards ceremony, was “hugely encouraged” by exam results across North Lanarkshire