Exclusive:UK Government 'ignoring questions' on £200m Grangemouth money from local MSPs

A group of SNP MSPs wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the start of August about £200 million which has been promised for the former refinery site - but have received no reply.

Local MSP Martyn Day followed up on the letter by writing to the Labour Party’s Minister for Reindustrialisation Blair McDougall in September but has again received no response.

The UK Government has announced that Grangemouth would receive £200m from the National Wealth Fund in February last year, but it recently admitted that none of the money had yet been spent.

It comes as nearly 400 more jobs in Grangemouth are under threat after Syngenta announced plans to cease operations at its plant last week.

Falkirk East and Linlithgow MSP Martyn Day, whose constituency includes Grangemouth, said the PM had “gone into hiding on the issue”.

He said: “The Labour Party promised it would save Grangemouth but instead stood aside and let the refinery die and we are seeing the disastrous results right now with hundreds of jobs lost and diesel prices reaching record levels.

“Labour then promised it would deliver £200 million in support for the area but 18 months on and still not a penny has been delivered. We have repeatedly raised this with the UK Labour Government but they haven’t even had the good grace to reply.

“With hundreds more jobs now at risk, this money is more urgent than ever and yet Andy Burnham’s government has gone into hiding on the issue by simply ignoring our questions about the support. Grangemouth needs the money it was promised, and it needs it right now.

“The Labour Party couldn’t get the chequebook out quick enough when it came to bailing out similar industrial sites in England. It’s no wonder that people in Grangemouth feel like they have been forgotten about.”

Some 400 workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery were made redundant when it stopped refining oil last year and became an imports terminal.

It comes as biotech company has received a £2.5 million funding boost from the Scottish National Investment Bank to support its new production facility in Grangemouth.

MiAlgae, which makes fish-free omega-3 supplements using leftover by-products from the whisky production process, broke ground on its commercial-scale manufacturing facility in December 2025.

On Tuesday, the firm said the £2.5 million investment will help it scale its commercial production and bring new employment opportunities in the Grangemouth community.

MiAlgae said it is forecasting to grow its workforce from 60 to about 156 by the end of 2028.

Jane Reoch, executive director of innovation at the Scottish National Investment Bank, described MiAlgae as “one of Scotland’s most promising biotech companies”.

She added: “It has stellar innovation credentials and true scale-up potential, all while reducing any negative impact on our oceans and contributing to our circular economy.

“This investment ticks all three of our impact missions: innovation, net zero, and our place mission which aims to support thriving communities.

“MiAlgae’s growing presence and creation of high-quality jobs at Grangemouth contributes to the area’s industrial economy.”

MiAlgae was the first project on the site of the former oil refinery at Grangemouth, and it was announced in the wake of the refinery’s closure in April 2025.

The Scottish National Investment Bank, which is wholly owned by Scottish ministers but operates independently from Government, invests in Scottish projects and businesses with the aim of securing both commercial returns and societal benefits.

A UK Government spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that he will reindustrialise Britain, and we are taking action to secure the long-term future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster.

"That is why the National Wealth Fund stands ready to invest £200 million alongside £14.5 million grant funding from last year’s Budget, which is already being delivered.”