Moore and Purvis Demand Support for Borders Textiles
October 13, 2009 2:49 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats
Borders Parliamentarians Michael Moore MP and Jeremy Purvis MSP have called for Ministers in London and Edinburgh to provide the Borders textile industry with additional support after figures released last week showed that the value of Scottish textiles exports has dropped by 12% over the last three months.
Exports across the Scottish manufacturing sector as a whole have also declined significantly, with manufactured exports plunging to their lowest level since 1995.
In July, Mr Moore met with Ian Lucas MP, Minister of State at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and representatives of the textiles industry to discuss the problems that the economic downturn has caused for many firms in the Borders.
Commenting, Mr Moore said:
'After a series of redundancies across the sector in recent months, the severity of these latest figures remove any doubt of the scale of the challenge now facing textiles producers in the Borders.
'The difficulty that many firms have had in securing credit and export insurance on reasonable terms has meant that a number of previously profitable and well-run businesses are now facing an uncertain economic future.
'Ministers must realise that their failure to take action now could result in significant and permanent damage to one of the few remaining world-class Scottish industries'.
Mr Purvis added:
'The textiles industry in Scotland has suffered at the hands of the current recession and it is therefore vital that businesses receive government assistance that measures up to that given to other sectors.
'The Borders economy relies on the textile industry's success and for this reason I will continue to push the Scottish Government to provide the necessary financial assistance to Borders textile businesses.'
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats