THE Scottish Government is to reduce business rates at Tata Steel’s plants at Clydebridge and Dalzell for a year in a bid to help find a new operator for the mothballed sites.
Starting in April, the relief will be available provided the sites remain used for steel production.
Following the latest Scottish Steel Task Force meeting, Business Minister Fergus Ewing said, “The Scottish Government is acting to support the Scottish steel industry and is making every effort to attract potential buyers for the two plants.
“This relief on business rates is a powerful signal of the value we place on securing an alternative operator, and helping them to cut costs. It initially applies for one year, as we have already secured agreement that the Assessor will take the state of the steel industry into account for the 2017 revaluation. Together, these actions demonstrate that we are using the levers available to us.
“We continue to work constructively with Task Force partners to ensure a viable future for the plants, with action also being taken on energy costs, procurement and on environmental issues. To help a new operator restart operations, the Scottish Government has also invested £195,000 to keep key workers on standby to safeguard full manufacturing capability.”
