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Hall's of Broxburn
10/10/2012
Finance Secretary John Swinney has pledged the continued support of the Scottish Government to the Hall’s of Broxburn taskforce.
Vion provided two bidders with a short extension to the deadline of today to enable them to finalise their position.
The taskforce will continue to work with the company during this period to find a solution.
Mr Swinney also led discussions on the measures that have been put in place by the taskforce to help staff looking for work and measures being taken forward with West Lothian Council to mitigate the impact on the wider local economy.
The taskforce was established in July after Vion, the parent company of Hall’s, announced plans to close the West Lothian processing plant. It comprises of the Scottish Government, West Lothian Council, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development International, Skills Development Scotland, trades unions, the company and local elected representatives.
The Scottish Government has already been providing support to employees of Hall’s during the 90 day consultation period, which ended on last Wednesday (3rd October), through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE), and this will continue.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
"The Scottish Government has been committed to doing all that it can to help those working at Hall’s of Broxburn and their families throughout this whole period.
"Since Vion announced the proposed closure in July, the Scottish Government and its agencies have taken every action in our power to secure the future of the plant, working with the company and stakeholders.
"We will continue to work with Vion over the coming days as they consider their final two bids.
"We are also ensuring all possible support is being made available to staff, teams have already been on site and resources are in place to help people who are looking at their options for the future.
"We are also working with West Lothian Council to address the serious potential impact on the local area, and the taskforce will draw up a recovery plan to address this and to find jobs for those affected by Vion’s announcement."