Call to bring hundreds of civil service jobs to Aberdeen
The leader of Aberdeen City Council wants Scotland's new benefits agency to be based in the Granite City
Aberdeen City Council leader Jenny Laing has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon calling for Scotland’s new benefits agency to be based in the Granite City.
Councillor Laing said the new agency – which comes as Holyrood is handed sweeping new powers over social security payments – would bring 300 much-need jobs to Aberdeen.
She told the First Minister that her decision to establish the new Scotland Benefits Agency in the city would send a clear signal to the people of Aberdeen that her Government was “making every possible effort to mitigate” the effects of the oil and gas crisis.
She wrote: “As you know, Aberdeen has suffered greatly over the past two years as a result of the dramatic downturn in the oil and gas industry. Tens of thousands of jobs have been lost and it seems not a month goes by without yet another announcement of further job cuts in the beleaguered sector. You can imagine the impact – both economic and psychological - that such devastating news has on the people who live and work in the city. The new welfare agency will see the creation of 300 jobs and although a drop in the ocean when you consider the speed and ferocity in which our city’s employment has been decimated, I believe any decision to base the new agency in Aberdeen will send a strong signal to people here that the Scottish Government is making every possible effort to mitigate the impact of the current crisis.”
Councillor Laing added: “Aberdeen has been hit by a series of hammer blows and, despite our disproportionate contribution to the UK and Scottish economies over the past 40 years, we have seen very little in the way of support from the SNP Government. As Nicola Sturgeon prepares to dole out the ‘goodies’ from the Smith Commission, she should show the people of Aberdeen that we are not the SNP’s ‘forgotten city’ and that she will do everything in her power to support Aberdeen during this difficult period. The location for such a critical agency in Aberdeen can only have a positive impact on our local economy and employment situation.
“When you consider that Aberdeen is Scotland’s third city and both economically and culturally punches well above its weight, I do not think that it is too much to expect our city to be considered for the new social security agency. Aberdeen City Council and its partners including ONE are working with both the UK and Scottish Government to maximise North Sea recovery. There is however an understanding within the public and private sector that Aberdeen requires to diversify, its economy whilst continuing to support entrepreneurs and businesses to invest in our infrastructure. But we need all the support we can get from the Scottish Government.”