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Scottish Government still to answer further questions on ‘ferries fiasco’ say opposition MSPs

The MV Glen Sannox.
The MV Glen Sannox.

“Serious questions” remain over the Scottish Government’s handling of the Ferguson Marine “ferry debacle”, MSPs have said.

Finance and economy secretary Kate Forbes was asked in parliament on Tuesday what the Government’s response to the allegation made by a former finance consultant Jim McColl £25 million of public money was wasted on the “forced” nationalisation of Ferguson Marine Engineering.

Labour MSP Paul Sweeney asked for all correspondence between the Government, HCCI and CMAL — Caledonian Marine Assets Ltd (CMAL), the government quango that procured the vessels.

Ms Forbes said the claim was “totally incorrect” before adding a claim going through the Scottish Courts was “ongoing”.

She added: “Throughout the whole process, our commitment has been to ensure that the vessels are delivered.

“The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee has completed its detailed scrutiny of the issues and ministers have considered and responded to the committee’s findings.

“We remain committed to transparency and co-operated at every stage of the parliamentary inquiry. We proactively published large volumes of information on our website and, as and when requested, we provided evidence to the inquiry.”

She added: “Paul Sweeney has, in effect, rewritten history on two occasions in his question. It is totally incorrect to assert, as in some media reporting, that the £25 million that he has referred to has been lost from the public purse.

“A judgment was made in the Scottish courts on 21 May 2021. The claim is on-going so I am restricted in what I can say, but, as is already widely known, because ministers proactively published extensive information to aid the parliamentary inquiry, an agreement was reached with HCCI to release it from a performance bond that it had provided for Ferguson’s.

“Having seen the parliamentary inquiry proceed with extensive, transparent and proactive provision of information by ministers, the commitment is to ensure that vessels are delivered for the communities that rely on them, that the workforce is protected and that a viable future exists for the yard.

Afterwards, Mr Sweeney tweeted: “Serious questions remain, as the Cabinet Secretary refused to publish all outstanding correspondence in relation to the £32 million cost of acquiring Ferguson Marine, after CMAL intransigence and Ministers’ incompetence over the ferry contract led to the collapse of the shipyard.

“Ministers seemed to be more concerned with taking over operational control of the shipyard, preventing responsibility falling to HCCI. One wonders why Ministers were eager to push these commercial third parties out, given the litany of failure reported between CMAL and Ministers.”

History

The original fixed-price £97 million ferry contract was awarded to the Ferguson shipyard in August 2015. That came almost a year after Jim McColl’s Clyde Blowers Capital had stepped in to bring the site out of administration.

The vessels MV Glen Sannox, destined for the Arran service, and Hull 802, being built for the Skye, Harris and North Uist route, are still in the shipyard.

Questions over director’s salary

Ms Forbes also refused to say who authorised the payment of £790,000 per year to “turnaround director” Tim Hair.

Scottish Conservative MSP Edward Mountain asked: “The catastrophic mismanagement of the ferries contract that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee identified seems to continue to grow arms and legs.

Edward Mountain NHS Highland
Edward Mountain MSP

“Tim Hair, whom the Scottish Government appointed, is paid in excess of £790,000 per annum, which is more than two and a half times the combined annual salaries of the Prime Minister and the First Minister. Who authorised that contract and why?”

Ms Forbes responded: “Edward Mountain knows more about FMEL than many do, because of the inquiry that the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee conducted—an inquiry to which we submitted extensive and transparent information.

“Our investment in the yard is indicative of the importance that we place on it and on the communities that rely on lifeline ferry vessels.

“With regard to the turnaround director specifically, a benchmarking exercise was conducted as part of the recruitment process to identify market rates. The turnaround director’s agreed fee was well within the benchmark and consistent with market rates that reflect the highly specialised nature of a role that requires senior level experience.

“Our investment in the yard is indicative of the importance that we place on FMEL and of our commitment to the delivery of those two vessels.”

Mr Mountain chaired the Scottish Parliament Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee into the “debacle”, which uncovered a “catastrophic failure” in the procurement process