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Cabinet meets in Dundee
29/06/2009
The Scottish Cabinet will gather for a historic first meeting in Dundee today - one of five Cabinet meetings and associated events being held outside Edinburgh during the Scottish Parliament summer recess.
First Minister Alex Salmond will also take Cabinet to Melrose, Stornoway, Aberdeen and Glasgow, giving local communities an opportunity to speak directly to Ministers about issues of local and national importance.
This follows on from last year's pioneering Summer Cabinet programme where several hundred people attended events in Dumfries, Inverness, Pitlochry and Skye.
The FM will chair a formal meeting of Cabinet in the University of Abertay today, followed by a Homecoming Scotland reception at Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre.
A public discussion event on the Government's National Conversation will take place tomorrow, chaired by Constitution Minister Michael Russell with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Cabinet Secretaries.
The FM said:
"Last year the Scottish Government took Cabinet directly to the people of Dumfries, Inverness, Pitlochry and Skye. Ministers and I had the opportunity to meet with many individuals and organisations from the local communities and listen to their views on a range of issues.
"As a Government, we are committed to staying in touch with the people and the issues. Taking the Cabinet out of Edinburgh to venues around Scotland provides us with the perfect opportunity to do this.
"Building on the success of last year's Summer Cabinets, we have extended the programme to include five venues, starting in Dundee. The city of Dundee is renowned for its leading edge in research and innovation, particularly within the life sciences sector and I look forward to visiting Dundee College on Monday afternoon to make an announcement related to life sciences.
"Dundee will be a great start to this year's Summer Cabinet programme and the Cabinet Secretaries and I look forward to meeting many representatives from the local communities over the course of Monday and Tuesday."