A new team is being formed to lead efforts to alleviate the economic impact of job reductions at Moray RAF bases and other challenges facing the area's economy.

The Moray Task Force is being set up on the instructions of the First Minister following the announcement that more than 900 jobs are to go from the RAF bases at Kinloss and Lossiemouth.

Based with Moray's local enterprise company at Horizon Scotland, Forres, the four-strong team will work with senior management there to address the issues arising from the cuts and other job losses in the area and drive forward a strategy to mitigate their effects.

The team will work closely with the representatives of the public and private sector bodies who form Moray's local economic forum and the Ministry of Defence.

Key priorities for the task force will be assisting the local enterprise company to:
* Identify opportunities among the physical and human assets at the bases to diversify the Moray economy
* Help develop and improve the entrepreneurial culture of the area
* Examine the opportunities to improve the business infrastructure
* Harness the skills available at the bases to improve the competitiveness of the area
* Develop other short and medium term proposals and actions to improve the performance of the Moray economy
* Ensure the support of all stakeholder organisations for the planned actions

With advertisements for the post of team leader appearing from the end of this week, the task force is expected to be in place and fully operational by later this summer.

A redrawing of boundaries of two local enterprise companies in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise network will see Moray Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise (MBSE) focus solely on the Moray area from July 1.

MBSE chief executive, Douglas Yule, who will continue to head the organisation, said: "The formation of the task force, along with our own reorganisation, underlines our determination to tackle the challenges facing the area and create lasting change.

"Although the task force was launched in the wake of the devastating announcement of the RAF job reductions, the efforts of the new team, the LEC and all the other stakeholders will be focussed on Moray as a whole.

"The importance of taking this approach to encourage genuine and sustainable diversification in the whole Moray economy was further underlined by serious job losses in Buckie after the announcement about the RAF bases. Prior to that, east Moray was already facing significant economic challenges - a fact which we responded to by opening a new office and establishing a team in Buckie."