JIM HUME PRESSES MINISTER ON HELP FOR BORDERS MANUFACTURING SECTOR

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 10th Jun 2010

Jim Hume, Liberal Democrat MSP for the South of Scotland, today pressed the Enterprise Minister on when the Scottish Investment Bank will release funds to Scottish businesses and on the need for retail banks to begin lending to viable manufacturing businesses as a matter of urgency.

The MSP took the opportunity during the weekly Parliamentary Question Time to tackle the Minister and focused on the specific issue of very recent redundancies from Peter Scott of Hawick, and JJ & HB Cashmere in Innerleithen earlier in the year.

Mr Hume said:

"The manufacturing sector in the Borders has suffered setbacks recently, and time and time again one of the key issues business representatives talk to me about is the lack of capital available in the system.

"The First Minister announced the start of the Scottish Investment Bank in April 2009, to the Scottish Trades Union Congress. He announced it again in April 2010, once again to the STUC. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth was asked by the Parliament's Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee in May about money in the Scottish Investment Bank for businesses, and he said, 'it is available now'.

"The Enterprise Minister has now said today that he 'thinks' the money will be available later this year.

"Businesses in the Scottish Borders and across the South of Scotland need action from this Scottish Government, not more empty promises of possible future help."

Liberal Democrat Finance & Economy Spokesperson and Local Borders MSP, Jeremy Purvis, added:

"Jim Hume and I have been raising access to finance issues with the Scottish Government for the past two years. Being told that businesses desperate to get working capital will have to wait for up to another nine months is simply just not good enough."

ENDS