Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 20 April 2022
It is desperately sad that the Scottish Government’s mismanagement has had such a devastating impact on the communities that depend on lifeline ferry services; £250 million has been squandered, and that cost is likely to rise.
As Mercedes Villalba said, the impact on the communities that are served by these ferries is immeasurable. Businesses are losing millions of pounds due to lack of capacity and cancelled ferries, and island food and fish exports are rotting on the pier, which has a direct impact on the islands’ economy. The social cost is immeasurable, which Alex Cole-Hamilton talked about.
The allocation of the contracts to Ferguson Marine should have been a step towards building a thriving shipbuilding industry on the Clyde, but the SNP’s mismanagement has delivered nothing but chaos. Instead of putting that right, it now procures ferries from Turkey rather than the Clyde. What are the working conditions in Turkey? Do they comply with fair work practices? What community benefits are being provided by those contracts? As Neil Bibby said, we need a full public inquiry into what went wrong.
In 2019, Tim Hair was appointed as turnaround director in the yard. Emails obtained through freedom of information requests showed that the appointment was rushed through. Tim Hair was paid £2 million to turn around the yard, but the ferries have been delayed yet again. While ministers have come and gone, the First Minister has been a constant presence throughout this fiasco. We need a personal guarantee from her that she will take ministerial responsibility for the delivery of those vessels, with no more delays.
Audit Scotland’s damning report highlights how Scottish ministers ignored warnings and awarded the contract to a builder that could not meet basic contract guarantees. Neither Kate Forbes nor Nicola Sturgeon can explain why the normal financial safeguards were not put in place or why they ignored the warnings from CMAL. There is no written evidence as to why ministers pressed ahead and accepted the terms of the contract without a full builder’s refund guarantee.
The First Minister says that “the buck stops with” her, but she bears none of the consequences of the huge failure, and she subsequently pointed the finger at Derek Mackay. As Alex Cole-Hamilton said, Jim McColl, the previous owner of Ferguson’s, has suggested that the contract was awarded for “political” reasons, so that the SNP could announce it at Nicola Sturgeon’s first conference.
We believe that the First Minister must now show leadership and ensure that these ferries are delivered with no further delays and that the reputation of Ferguson’s is restored. She must instigate a national ferry procurement and building programme to ensure that CalMac’s ageing fleet is renewed and—as Mercedes Villalba highlighted—that the benefits of these contracts remain in Scotland. She must ensure that the structures surrounding our lifeline ferry services are fit for purpose and allow CalMac to work with communities to build the ferries that those communities need. Finally, we need a public inquiry so that the lessons are learned and we never see a fiasco like this repeated in the future.
17:22