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The Tay Cities Deal Joint Committee welcomed confirmation that both UK and Scottish Governments have now indicated they are ready to sign the Final Deal.

At a meeting of the Joint Committee, held virtually due to ongoing Coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions, local partners said they remain committed to signing the Deal at the earliest opportunity.

Councillor David Ross, Fife Council Co-leader and Joint Committee Chair, said: “Delivery of the Tay Cities Deal will be a key strand of the response to the challenging economic position facing the regional and national economy.

“The £300million pledged by the two Governments will help lever a further £400 million of investment in our city region and, critically, deliver up to 6,000 job opportunities across a range of industries.”

The meeting heard there remain only two major items that require discussion at senior political level with both the UK and Scottish Governments before the signing, which members said they hoped could take place next month.

The first of these items, the meeting was told, is that local partners remain committed to secure a 10 year term from UK Government to match that of Scottish Government. UK Government has committed to review this after the Deal is signed as part of the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review. The Council Leaders will seek to demonstrate that the Tay Cities projects can be delivered in this timescale, and that the shorter phasing is essential to maximise economic impact.

The second outstanding issue is an ask of both Governments to collaborate on accelerated funding, in the first five years of the Deal, in order to speed up the delivery of key projects and ensure their impact is felt sooner.

The leaders of the four councils agreed today to seek an urgent meeting with ministers of both governments to negotiate and agree an approach to both of these matters prior to signing.

Councillor Ross added: “The Tay Cities Deal will be one of a number of important policy measures that will help recovery from the impact of Covid-19.”

THE TAY CITIES DEAL

The Tay Cities Region comprises the local authority areas of Angus, Dundee City, Perth & Kinross and the North East part of Fife. The region has a strong economic base and regional identity with world class universities and many cutting-edge businesses. It is home to almost 500,000 people and more than 15,000 businesses.

The Deal is a partnership between local, Scottish and UK governments and the private, academic and voluntary sectors which seeks to create a smarter and fairer Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth & Kinross under the headings Inclusive Tay; Innovative, International Tay; Connected Tay and An Empowered Tay.

In total, the 25 projects and programmes submitted require investment of £700 million of which £300 million over 10 to 15 years is being put in by the Scottish and UK governments and their agencies, subject to final approval of robust business cases.

If every project and programme set out in the submission is funded and delivered, up to 6,000 job opportunities could be created across tourism, food and drink, creative industries, eco innovation, digital, decommissioning, engineering, biomedical and health and care.