ASSISTED AREA STATUS OF ARBROATH

That this House notes with concern the exclusion of Arbroath from the revised assisted area boundary proposals; recognises that while significant gains have been made in recent years to restructure the local economy, the case for re-inclusion is strong, given the consistently high levels of unemployment, the significant dependence on a declining manufacturing sector, and the opportunities which exist to benefit from regional selective assistance; understands that without assisted area status recent gains in Arbroath will be reversed; and calls on the Department of Trade and Industry to reinstate the excluded areas.