Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 02 December 2020
The information is perhaps partial because the Scottish Government has not published what it is taking advice from.
What were the terms of the deal with DF Barnes? The company challenged the Scottish Government’s argument that it had failed to invest, saying that JV Driver had repeatedly offered shares to the Government at no cost, and that it was understood that the Scottish Government would be the primary financer. If the Scottish Government says differently, will it publish the details of the deal that was struck? Will the Scottish Government be honest about the meeting on 19 September and the advice that it gave to DF Barnes? Why has the Scottish Government stopped working closely with the trade unions? I cannot understand why the unions were sidelined and why their members had to read about the decision to pull the plug on critical funding in the newspapers.
It is clear that contracts for difference need to be reformed. Overseas yards that deliver the work for a cheaper price undercut UK companies, which leads us to the ludicrous situation that the majority of the NnG contract is manufactured in Indonesia and shipped thousands of miles to the Fife coast. Let us not, however, use that as a way to deflect from Government failure in this case. The NnG contract for difference is a more advantageous deal than those that have been done more recently, and the eight jackets that are on offer for BiFab are slim pickings from what is a significant contract.
My key concern and that of the people in Fife is how to rescue the NnG contract. There are those who will argue that JV Driver should get out of the way and let someone else take over. I want clarity over whether that is a realistic option that will secure the NnG contract. In discussions yesterday, the cabinet secretary said that there would have to be a company involved in the tendering process with Saipem. Is there an option for providing that guarantee?
The NnG contract is vital for building the reputation of the company and to demonstrate that it can deliver. Without it, there is little to invest in, because the short to medium-term pipeline is virtually non-existent. BiFab is based in Methil and Burntisland in Fife, and we cannot underestimate the significance of the job for that area—the Levenmouth area is in the 5 per cent of most-deprived areas in the whole of Scotland and suffers from industrial decline and isolation.
The good news of the reopening of the Levenmouth rail link is a boost, but there is a desperate need of good employment and apprenticeship opportunities in the area, which the NnG contract can deliver. The BiFab yard at Burntisland is also important to the prosperity of the town. Three years ago, the First Minister said that the BiFab workers had
“every reason to be optimistic”
about the future. What optimism can the communities of Methil and Burntisland have today?
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