Call to hurry Dundee city deal

The Scottish Government has been urged to hurry on a proposed Dundee city deal that could see hundreds of millions of pounds of investment in Tayside and North East Fife.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney said Scottish ministers would take forward discussions with their UK counterparts “when the city deal develops”.

Jenny Marra, the Dundee-based Labour MSP, pressured the Perthshire North MSP after hailing a £10 million investment in the city’s port.

She said: “He will have noted the comments from Charles Hammond, the chief executive of Forth Ports, saying that public investment is also needed.

“To that end, the First Minister told me last week that the city deal for Dundee is under discussion.

“Will the Cabinet Secretary give me an update on how his discussions on a city deal for Dundee are progressing?”

Mr Swinney replied: “We will take forward discussions with the UK Government, as we do for all such questions and as we did in relation to Glasgow and Aberdeen.

“We will continue those discussions as the details emerge.”

Launched by the UK Government in 2011, the city deal programme aims to give local authorities “greater resources and financial freedoms” to drive economic growth.

The Scottish Cities Alliance has indicated a city deal involving Dundee, Angus, Perth and Kinross and Fife could potentially land funding of around £400m.

It has been speculated that the funding could help improve public transport in the area, pay for new building projects and provide employment.

Glasgow benefited first, in 2014, from a £1 billion package.

MSP Jenny Marra.