March 23rd 2023.
Scotland's islanders have been "badly let down" by "a ferry fiasco riddled with failures in governance, transparency, accountability, communication and record-keeping".
This is the judgment of the Scottish Parliament's public audit committee in its report on the construction of Glen Sannox and the still unnamed "Hull 802".
The committee has asked the Auditor General for Scotland to conduct a forensic analysis of the £128 million in public funds spent by the construction firm Ferguson Marine.
The report condemned the "serious failings" of the Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland, including the "weak and toothless" programme steering group it headed.
The majority of the committee considered that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's decision to publicly declare the preferred bidder when considerable negotiations were still needed and the decision to go ahead without a full guarantee weakened Caledonian Maritime Assets' position when the quality of work by Ferguson Marine became
an issue.
Richard Leonard, chair of the committee, said: “The people of Scotland have been badly let down by this project.
“There have been collective failures at government and agency level from the start.
“It has been beset: by a lack of transparency; by ineffective governance arrangements; by inadequate record keeping within the government; and by baffling communication failures.
“Throughout our examination, we took a wide range of evidence, making our way through numerous conflicting perspectives to reach the conclusions outlined today.
“We had to struggle to get some of the data we needed. Sadly, despite our best efforts, some questions remain unanswered.”
He added: “We recognize the attempts by the Scottish Government to protect jobs at Ferguson Marine and commend the workforce for their resilience during what has been, and continues to be, an incredibly difficult time.
Their experienced voices should have been listened to from the start.
“It is essential that lessons are learned.
“That implies much needed reform of governance arrangements for future vessel projects – but it also means a change in how the government and its agencies act and are accountable to parliament and the people.
“That is a challenge for the permanent secretary and the new First Minister.”
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