Scots firms ‘should have bridge deals’

SCOTTISH firms would have been fit to bid for contracts to build the new Forth bridge if the procurement process had been handled differently, an economist has told MSPs.

Margaret Cuthbert, co-author of a report on public procurement in Scotland, said the way in which the major contracts for the £800 million project had been given out would be “inconceivable” in France or Germany.

She said the large contracts could have been broken down into smaller lots, a move permissible under EU law that would have allowed Scottish firms to compete.

Mrs Cuthbert was appearing at Holyrood’s finance committee to answer questions on the recently published report, Using Our Buying Power to Benefit Scotland.