Ferries scandal Scotland: Are ministers asking the right, or any, questions of Ferguson Marine?

The ferries saga remains a veritable smorgasbord of delicious treats for the SNP’s opposition to feast on.

Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow

But so much of the problems at the yard in recent years appears to stem from the failure of government to ask the right, if any, questions of the management.

The degree of ignorance within the Scottish Government around the goings-on at Ferguson Marine baffle.

This is one of the biggest political and financial drains on the SNP/Green administration, burning money like it is bonfire kindling and draining political capital faster than a motorhome toilet.

And, despite this, ministers don’t seem to have a complete grasp on what is actually going on at the yard.

Take the controversy around bonus payments, reignited after the new finance secretary admitted a further £47,000 would be paid out to staff at the yard despite more delays to the Glen Sannox and hull 802.

The initial bonus payments, totally £87,000, were agreed under so-called ‘turnaround director’ Tim Hair, whose appointment must be one of the worst decisions in devolution history as his legacy continues to burn a hole in the taxpayer pocket as it did during his £1.8m period of employment.

Despite John Swinney’s then fury at the payments, no-one appeared to ask whether there were still contractual obligations that meant future bonuses would have to be paid.

That was until Thursday, anyway, when (helpfully just as FMQs began) they discovered the additional payments that had been agreed by Ferguson Marine management in November 2022, months before the first bonuses came to light.

Ministers were also completely in the dark about the existence of a non-disclosure agreement between Ferguson Marine and a consultancy firm before this newspaper published the details of the agreement which effectively bars the publication of a key report recommending investment to make the yard competitive.

For as politically-savvy an organisation as the Scottish Government is supposed to be, the approach to Ferguson Marine is lax and suggests a degree of trust the yard – at least under previous leadership – simply does not deserve.

While the government insists it gets regular updates from the yard, it is unclear whether ministers are asking the right questions and whether responses are treated with the scrutiny the yard’s history shows they deserve and the degree of public money involved demands.