Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 02 December 2020
I welcome the opportunity to speak in this short debate on BiFab. At the outset, I say that as the MSP for Cowdenbeath constituency, I stand full square behind the BiFab workers who have demonstrated time and again that their skills are second to none. I wish to recognise the important role that their trade unions have played.
It is clear that the BiFab workforce is angry. I quite understand its anger, because it has been let down by the neglectful disinterest of the majority shareholder and parent company, JV Driver. Indeed, JV Driver has completely failed to step up to the plate by refusing to provide either working capital or guarantees, notwithstanding—as we have heard this afternoon from the cabinet secretary—its commitment in the pre-acquisition business plan to do just that. I say to JV Driver, and to the board, that it is now time to step up or step out. If JV Driver will not act, it needs to make way for someone who can back up their words with real investment.
The other key problem is the UK Government’s contract for difference auction rules, which represent a significant barrier to supporting the renewables domestic supply chain in Scotland. The UK Government’s CFD rules facilitate a race to the bottom, due to the abject failure of the UK Government to have built any conditionality into the process. That key problem has long been identified by the Scottish Government and others, but calls for its reform have so far been ignored by the UK Government. That pivotal issue concerning the CFD regime clearly demonstrates the elephant in the room—that the power over energy policy lies not with this Parliament, but with Westminster. The Scottish Government has been unstinting in its efforts to support BiFab over the years, backed up with more than £51 million of investment to support Scottish workers, which is something that the Liberal Democrats do not seem keen on. It should be noted that the Scottish Government has had to operate with one hand tied behind its back. Of course, the Scottish Government did seek a wholesale transfer—[Interruption.]