Dundee summit aiming to tackle city unemployment

Ministers from the UK and Scottish governments are attending a summit aimed at tackling unemployment in Dundee.

John Swiney will meet with members of the council to discuss how best to get people back into work Picture: Phil Wilkinson

The city has an above-average number of people claiming out-of-work benefits and the lowest employment rate of all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Scotland Office Minister Andrew Dunlop will meet with representatives from Dundee City Council, businesses and universities on Friday to discuss how best to get people into work.

Areas of discussion will include how to make sure projects such as the regeneration of the waterfront, and Dundee’s life sciences and gaming sectors, provide new jobs in the city and the surrounding area.

Lord Dunlop said: “This is an excellent initiative and one which I am delighted to be a part of.

“Dundee is a city with huge potential and promise, but unemployment is a significant issue which needs to be tackled.

“The best way of doing that is if Scotland’s two governments work with the local authorities, businesses, entrepreneurs and other organisations with the city’s best interests at heart.

“We all have levers we can pull to help address this problem but no-one has all the answers.

“What this summit shows is that there is a willingness to come together for the good of Dundee and its people, and I am eager to play my part on behalf of the UK Government .”

Official figures show that in Dundee the proportion of the working-age population claiming out of work benefits was 3.2% in January, compared with a Scotland-wide figure of 2.2%.

The city’s employment rate was 63.3% between October 2014 and September 2015 , below the average rate for Scotland of 73.1%.

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