 The next item of business is a statement by John Swinney on Ferguson Marine update. The Cabinet Secretary will take questions at the end of his statement. Therefore, there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on the cabinet secretary for around 10 minutes, please. Ysgolwyddon nesaf llawer i'r cyngor sydd wedi crollegydd o gyllid ffawr. Felly, mae'r cyngor yn ymryd amgylchedd o flinigolol, ond o'i ffawr yn fawr i'n bwg ar y byddai Hul 802 a Ffergucan Mwren, ac i'n gwaith i'n fawriau ond i'r cyngor. Rydyn ni'n gwybod i gŷrfeyd ar y cyngor y mae Cymru. The first issue that I want to address is the Audit of Scotland section 22 report that was published on Tuesday. I welcome that report and acknowledge the legitimate issues that are raised. My statement will provide much of the update requested by the Auditor General. The report criticises the bonuses to senior staff at the Yard in the financial year 2021-22 and the process by which they were arrived at. The report rightly criticises the poor governance involved in the process. I agree with that criticism and assure Parliament that new arrangements have been put in place at my request to ensure such an eventuality does not arise in the future. The Scottish Government stands by its commitment to the shipbuilding communities in Inverclyde and to our island communities that will rely on the vessels currently being built at Ferguson Marine. I deeply regret that there have been delays to the delivery of the vessels and significantly higher costs than were predicted at the time of the tender award. Given the concerns over costs, it is only right and proper that the Scottish Government conducts a robust assessment on the use of its public funds and that the request received from the chief executive of Ferguson Marine on 28 September, with updated costs to complete both vessels, is also subject to an intense level of robust scrutiny. Those estimates indicated that £21 million of additional funding would be required in this financial year to sustain work on the vessels. Our full assessment and due diligence on the chief executive's cost estimates is due to complete in the coming weeks. On 15 December, I updated Parliament on the need for in-year funding of £15 million to Ferguson Marine to ensure that they could continue to progress the build of both vessels subject to completion of that work. Today I am confirming that I am satisfied that it is appropriate and necessary to allocate a further £6 million set out in the spring budget revision published on 2 February, which will take the additional total capital funding for Ferguson Marine in the 22.23 financial year to the £21 million requested by the chief executive in September. Whilst the due diligence work has been on-going, Ferguson Marine has continued to progress with the build, and the chief executive of NPNG has confirmed to me that the MV Glenn Sannet successfully completed the dry docking period at the start of this month. After the return to Port Glasgow, the yard achieved a major milestone in running the first main engine. This dry dock period has allowed the team at Ferguson's to make a detailed assessment of progress to date and to what will be required to ensure a high degree of confidence in the robustness of the ship when it is entered into service later this year. Following the assessment, the chief executive of Ferguson Marine has today written to the net zero energy and transport committee with an update of overall progress in preparing a dual fuel vessel to be handed over. He has concluded that due to persistent design gaps and build errors, progress has been slower than planned for the 801 vessel. The chief executive has therefore revised the handover dates for both vessels, with the MV Glenn Sannet now scheduled for autumn 2023, rather than the end of May 2023, that was previously estimated, with a contract backstop of no later than the end of December 2023. He has also indicated that the 802 will be handed over in the autumn of 2024, compared to the previous timescale of the end of March 2024, with a contract backstop of no later than the end of December 2024. It is a matter of great disappointment that a further revision to the timescale for delivery has been necessary. I welcome the chief executive's assurances that Ferguson Marine will continue their best endeavours to deliver both vessels sooner than these dates. The chief executive has also set out plans for the MV Glenn Sannet to have a sustained testing and sea trials period to help to ensure a smooth entry into service later this year. I am conscious that delays to the delivery of any project can lead to an overall increase in costs. That is why the Scottish Government will work with both Ferguson Marine and our technical adviser, Seymal, to assess any financial impact to the delivery of both vessels. I have therefore written to the chief executive to notify him that we will review his proposals and confirm our position on this in due course. Ferguson Marine, whilst acknowledging the potential for an increase in the total delivery costs due to the delay, state that it is looking to offset any potential increase through income generated from commercial work. One of our aims has always been to look beyond 801 and 802 and to ensure a sustainable future for commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde, which is one of the issues raised by the Auditor General in his report. We know that the Ferguson Marine team continues to pursue a range of opportunities to meet this shared ambition. I am pleased to report that the business has been successful in securing new commercial work and has recently entered into a contract with BAE Systems to support the delivery of their Type 26 frigate programme. This is involved the secondment of some Ferguson Marine workers to BAE Governs since January this year. Ferguson Marine has been clear to us that those workers are not currently required on 801 and 802 and their secondment is not diverting resources away from completion of the ferries. Moreover, such diversification helps to support the knowledge transfer and upskilling of the workforce across the industry. This is an important factor to ensure that those skills help support the shipyard to be competitive in aspiring to future contracts. Scottish ministers remain committed to do all that we can as a shareholder and as a Government to help to achieve a prosperous future for the shipyard. In support of the BAE contract, I can therefore confirm that the Scottish Government has agreed to provide a working capital loan of up to £25,000 with interest to support cash flow during the contract period. This is a short-term measure and is standard working practice for working capital requests from a public body and is in line with the terms of the Scottish Public Finance Manual. That work is a positive sign for Ferguson Marine and one that I am sure members will rightly support as the business looks to build an order book for the future. Presiding Officer, no further delay in the delivery of those vessels is welcome and I fully share what I expect will be members' disappointment at this announcement. However, the challenges and legacy issues that have been faced by the team at Ferguson cannot be underestimated. After the appointment last February of the new chief executive, substantial progress has been made in facing those. I understand and appreciate why it is so vital that new vessels are introduced into the ferry network, but we must ensure that any vessel introduced is able to provide our island communities with the confidence that it will perform in service and improve the network. I have discussed that with the chief executive and made my disappointment at this delay very clear. He fully appreciates the critical need for those vessels to enter service as soon as possible to support our island communities, a belief that I know all members will share. We stand firm in our commitment that those vessels will be completed. I would like to put on record my appreciation to the workforce at Ferguson Marine and I am sure that Parliament will join me in supporting the continued efforts of the workforce who are determined to ensure the successful delivery of those two lifeline ferries. Presiding Officer, as I have set out here, Parliament will be updated further when the financial due diligence work is completed in the coming weeks. This work is critical to strengthening our ferry network, which has been further enhanced by the procurement of four further vessels for the fleet. The Government recognises its duties to ensure sustainable ferry services for our island communities and we are determined to fulfil that duty. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in his statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will need to move on to the next item of business. It would be helpful for members who wish to ask a question and who have not already done so. I press the request to speak and I call on Graham Simpson. I thank the Deputy First Minister for advance sight of his statement. Let's cut to the chase here. The Glen Sannocks and the whole A02 could each be delayed by up to seven months and we still don't know what the final cost will be. More delays, more costs and islanders left in the lurch. It's a disgrace. I've been sent a CalMac-headed document about the LNG commissioning delay for the Glen Sannocks dated December 1 last year. The document says that if the LNG work is done at Trun, where the ferry is due to operate from, then for up to four weeks there wouldn't be an Arran ferry. CalMac in this document says that they don't want the Glen Sannocks until it is fully ready. My question is this. Is that the real reason for the delays announced today? My second question is the Deputy First Minister says he will assess the financial impact of delays. How much extra is the Government prepared to plough in to these ferries? On the first of the two questions that Mr Simpson puts to me, the details that I've set out today are the assessment by the chief executive of the billed programme of 801. That is the rationale for the details that I've set to Parliament. There's no other reason other than the billed programme that the chief executive has set out. That's what I've reported to Parliament today. Mr Simpson raises a fair point, which I acknowledge in my statement that, when there is a delay to timescale, there may well be a delay to finance. What I want to assure Mr Simpson is that what I have been doing, what my officials have been doing and what will continue to be done is that there will be essential scrutiny of the merits of the financial case being put to us for any additional resources. That has been applied. That's why I've got to the position today where I'm satisfied that the original proposition of 21 million pounds of further cost in this financial year merits being paid. I was not at that position when I addressed Parliament in December, but I am now. However, what I do assure Mr Simpson is that we are acting in with all possible endeavour to ensure that the costs are contained and the estimates that I've put on the record today are the best estimates of the information that we have available to us, but we are challenging and scrutinising the detail of those estimates. Neil Bibby. Even more delays and even more millions who will be surprised. This is a scandal manufactured by SNP ministers, and they all have their fingerprints on it. Humza Yousaf, John Swinney, Kate Forbes and Nicola Sturgeon to name a few. After all that's gone wrong, it beggars belief that senior management handed themselves bonuses without anyone in the Scottish Government noticing. The previous turnaround director received £2 million. He was let off Scot free. This gravy train needs to end. This is not the Government's money, this is taxpayers' money. So what is the Deputy First Minister going to do to get this money back? This is a scandal with continuing consequences for island communities. Even SNP MSPs don't seem to trust the SNP anymore. So will the Deputy First Minister now order an independent inquiry into this whole shameful debacle? And finally, if the concerns of the GMB union had been listened to earlier, then perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess. Instead of hiding behind the workforce, what are the Government going to do now to listen to the workforce on the need for investment in facilities at the yard to ensure that there's a future beyond the MOD work, beyond those two vessels and the mess that the SNP has created? I think in all of this, the intention of ministers has been to support the development, the retention and development of shipbuilding on the Clyde. If I go back to when Ferguson's went into administration in 2014, I led the Government's efforts to try to secure a rescue of Ferguson's. The purpose of that was to try to preserve the very employment that Mr Bibby talks about and to preserve the employment of some of the finest people I've met in my life, the workforce of Ferguson's. I know a number of them personally going a way back in my parliamentary career. Good, decent people who know their skill. So I'm going to make no apology for trying to protect employment on the Clyde in relation to shipbuilding, because I know how important it is for everybody, for who we are as a country. But there are, of course, difficulties and challenges in the execution of this contract, and I make no bones about that. I've set out, and I think that Mr Bibby's from a certain position is asking me to apologise for that. If I apologised for it before and I apologise for that again, it's a matter of deep regret to me. On the question of the bonuses, I think that the bonuses are reprehensible. The Government didn't know about them. The Government found out about them as a consequence of the audit work. We were never consulted about them, and we should have been consulted about them, so I find them reprehensible, and we are assessing what actions we can take in that respect. On the question of an independent inquire, obviously there's been a lot of scrutiny about the Ferguson's issues. Parliamentary committees have looked at that. Mr Leonard chairs the Public Audit Committee, which is looking at many of those questions. I think that it's premature for me to say anything. Indeed, as Mr Bibby knows, I'm not going to be here for much longer in this front bench anyway, so I won't commit to any further inquiries. On the final point, in relation to the voice of the workforce, I've listened carefully over many years to the voice of the workforce, and the Government's doing exactly what the workforce wanted, and that's invested in that yard. We've been doing that. We get criticised for it, and yes, the investment has been put in it. I don't think that there's much support for investment in the yard from over this side, from what I can hear being shouted at me in the background, but I assure Mr Bibby of the Government's commitment to invest in the yard for the future. Okay. There's an awful lot of interest in this issue. I'm going to try and get in as many questionnaires as I can, but the questions will need to be brief, as will the responses. It will not be helped if people are shouting from a sedentary position, which is just going to delay the process, so I encourage members to treat each other with courtesy and respect. I call Stuart McMillan to be followed by Jamie Greene. Thank you, Presiding Officer. First of all, I think that the section 22 report further justifies my call for Tim Earty of what left that yard in 2021. The issue of the future security of the work is uppermost, in my mind, but also the workforce and also the Inverclyde community. When will the Scottish Government bring forward a small vessel replacement programme and have the legal implications being resolved to allow a direct award to the yard? The issue of direct award is one in which the Government has got to proceed with great care for all the issues that we're rehearsing here, and we have to make sure that we get arrangements for that correct if it is possible to do so. In relation to the small vessel replacement programme, the Government is committed to on-going investment in the ferry network. We've obviously have these two vessels that have been procured with four further vessels that will enhance the network, and we're looking for other opportunities to enhance tonnage, but of course the small vessel replacement programme, which Ferguson's have contributed significantly through the construction, if my memory says me, creative three vessels already demonstrate the strength of the yard in that respect. Jamie Greene, to be followed by Colin Beattie. Thank you. I'm sure that people's far away as the Isle of Arran could hear SNP back benches applaud Mr Swinney on this statement. More devastating news for Islanders. Islanders who are simply scunnered at the endless delays their lifeline services. The current vessel that services that route is nearly 30 years old. It's been in dry dock for three months, and there's still problems with its major overhaul. Can I ask Mr Swinney what is the Government doing right now to ensure that our islands are connected? He says that they will deliver for our islands. Will we wear the ferries? In relation to the situation in Arran, obviously the transport minister is very conscious of the disruption that's been experienced because of the maintenance programme on the MV Caledonian Niles. We hope that that issue will be resolved very shortly to enable the two vessel service to return between Ardrossant and Brodic. We have, of course, enhanced the volume of sailings on the Lochranza route, in addition to the Isle of Arran continuing the single vessel sailings on that route. Mr Greene asked me about where is the ferry investment programme. In my response to Mr Bibby, I just set out the fact that we have commissioned the two vessels, which are taken longer—I accept that they are taken longer than they should have taken. We also have procured four further vessels that will be coming into the network over the course of the next three years, the earliest of which will come in 2024. There are new vessels coming in to supplement the additional investment that we made on vessels such as the Loch Seaforth, the Loch Frisa and the other investments that the Government has made. Considering the level of funding being invested in the completion of the vessels, it is important that it can be clearly demonstrated where funding is being spent and what outcomes that is delivering. Can the Deputy First Minister advise what measures are taken to ensure transparency of how Scottish Government funding is being spent at the yard going forward? Obviously, that material is the subject of regular dialogue. I speak, for example, to the chief executive of Ferguson's on a monthly basis. My officials do so on a very regular basis, more frequently than weekly. There is formal reporting on a quarterly basis to the net zero committee in Parliament and also to the permanent secretary and I on a monthly basis. There is a regular flow of information that is monitoring the specific expenditure that is under way to ensure that the legitimate issues that Mr Beattie puts to me can be properly addressed. We must not lose sight of the fact that islanders urgently need a steady pipeline of new ferries, but we should also be building those vessels in Scotland. We welcome that the cabinet secretary has made a commitment to invest in developing shipbuilding on the Clyde, but will he respond specifically to the calls for investment in facilities at Ferguson Marine? Will he be willing to provide any advice that he obtains on whether a direct award could be made with this Parliament? I am very happy to engage on those questions, because I think that we have a shared interest in this particular point. What I cannot commit to is what might be the nature of the direct award advice, because there may be commercial sensitivity about some of the issues involved in that. I give Katie Clark the commitment that whatever the Government can share openly with Parliament about this process, it will do so, because I recognise the shared endeavour that we are interested in protecting shipbuilding on the Clyde. Scotland presents a substantial opportunity for shipbuilding in Scotland. Can the Deputy First Minister advise what steps are being taken to ensure that the yard is in a position to compete for contracts arising from Scotland? Obviously, we want the yard to be able to operate in a commercial environment, and there are a range of opportunities that are available. We have talked about the concept of the small vessel programme. Jackie Dunbar puts to me the propositions in relation to Scotland. I had a meeting just yesterday, Tuesday, with the leader of Shetlanddans Council with the Minister for Transport to discuss the interisland ferries. I had a meeting earlier this year with the leader of Orknan's Council in the constituency to look at the issue of interisland ferries there and their renewal, because many of the same issues that we are wrestling with about the age of the network are relevant in both the Orkney and the Shetland context. There is a substantial abundance of shipbuilding opportunity, which I think makes Katie Clark's point, particularly valid in Neil Bibby's point, about ensuring that we have yards that are able to undertake this work in Scotland, and the Government is committed to that objective. John Swinney is a master at defending the indefensible, but even today he cannot defend this set of circumstances. He has no idea about the final cost, no idea about the final delivery dates, and apparently he had no idea that those bonuses were being paid, even though his Government owns the yard. What guarantee can he give that this will be the last statement of its kind about those ferries? If I am the master of defence, Willie Rennie is the master of overstatement, because I have just set out to Parliament the timescale for the delivery of the vessel, so it is not appropriate for Mr Rennie to say that I do not have an answer, because I have just given an answer to Parliament. I have just given an answer about money. I have done it transparently and openly in the floor of Parliament. I am not sure how much more transparent I can be about this. In relation to the question of bonuses, the Government became aware of those bonuses out of the audit process. The Government was not made aware of those bonuses, and I have made it abundantly clear how much I deprecate those bonuses. The Government has set out that position. In relation to future developments, I hope that there is no need for any further statements to be made about timescale, but of one thing I am absolutely certain that I will not be delivering them. Jenny Minto, to be followed by Arianne Burgeon. The completion of the ferries is vital to the island communities that rely on them. It is in the public interest that the Parliament remains abreast of progress at the yard, so can the Deputy First Minister provide any further details about how Parliament will continue to be updated in this regard? Probably the best mechanism for that is the reports that are made available on a quarterly basis by the chief executive of Ferguson Marine to the net zero committee. That provides full information to the committee, and obviously committees of Parliament and members of Parliament are entitled to make inquiries through the usual routes of parliamentary questions and other devices to find out further information, if appropriate. Arianne Burgeon is to be followed by Donald Cameron. The Deputy First Minister will recognise, as I do, that island communities feel deeply let down by the on-going failures in the delivery of this contract for lifeline ferries. Given his statement and the audit report, can he explain how the Scottish Government will give the certainty needed to the communities who are relying on additional vessels in production? I appreciate the difficulties that we have with those two vessels. We have four other vessels that are in construction and procurement at the present moment, two of which will be used on the Islay routes and a further two will be used on the Sky Triangle to improve service there. Obviously, out of that, that will give us six new large vessels into the network in the space of about the next three years. Over that period, that will then give us the opportunity to redeploy vessels and, ideally, to be able to retain additional tonnage that will provide resilience should there be any weaknesses in the network that present themselves from time to time. I appreciate the unsatisfactory nature of the situation that we find ourselves in now, but I hope that Arianne Burgeon and her constituents take some assurance from the fact that the investment programme of the Government will result in increased capacity and tonnage and more reliability in the years to come. Donald Cameron, to be followed by Willie Coffey. The Deputy First Minister has just expressed concerns, regret and deep disappointment, but the one thing missing was an apology. So, after years of cancellations and breakdowns, after years of lost livelihoods, after years of anxiety for islanders about simply being able to travel to and from their home, will he now take this opportunity to say sorry to all those in our island communities who have been impacted by his Government's complete and reckless neglect of our ferry service? I thought one of the obligations of members of Parliament, and I'm really surprised about it from Donald Cameron, is to listen to what people actually say. I think that Mr Bibby might be my witness here, but I apologise in my answer to Mr Bibby. I'm not sure if Donald Cameron was late getting here, if so, or I suspect that he should have been apologising to the Presiding Officer, or he's obviously demonstrated that he wasn't listening. I apologise to people again for the inconvenience and distress and difficulty that's been caused, but I also want to put on the record that, at the same time as all of this has been going on, the Government's investment in ferries has been increasing very significantly indeed. Don't start shouting at me. Just don't start shouting at me. Listen to this for a minute. When this Government, a few years ago, there was no malling to Loch Boyzdale service, the Government put the money in place for that to be the case. We put a new boat on to the Stornoway Allapwll route, the Loch Seaforth. We've put extra capacity on to the mall route with the Loch Fraser. At the same time, investment, if Mr Lumsey would just stop shouting for a minute and listen to my answer, Parliament might be a slightly better place as a consequence. Yesterday there are difficulties, yesterday there is inconvenience, yesterday there is distress. There's also been a heck of a lot of investment as well. I will just repeat my call for questioners to be listened to and the responses to be listened to, and we will get more questions in. I'll call Willie Coffey to be followed by Paul Sweeney. Thank you. Does the Deputy First Minister agree that in any construction project, whether it be ferries, bridges, roads or even rail infrastructure, that it's crucial to apply recognised quality and management standards particularly at the outset, so that clear design specifications are established in advance of agreeing project cost estimates and all to be agreed before construction is permitted to begin, and that these basic principles, if followed, along with a rigorous capability assessment of the bidders, offers the best assurance that all construction projects in future have a reasonable chance of coming in on time and on budget. I think that there's a lot of merit in what Mr Coffey has put to me. There's one additional element that I would add on to it, and that is the necessary pragmatism to look at the emerging evidence about the implementation of a programme to have the ability to adapt and to revise the programme should the circumstances and the evidence merit that to be the case. So there is a lot of what Mr Coffey put on the record is valuable project management expertise, but there also needs to be pragmatism to respond to the evidence presented as well. Paul, we need to be followed by Edward Mountain. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Ferguson Marine has no funding beyond completing hulls 801 and 802. The Scottish Government has not invested in capital to improve the yard, according to the benchmarking report that is set out by First Marine International. The Scottish Government has not established a fund to fund builders refund guarantees, which is necessary to win export orders. Unless the Scottish Government awards Ferguson Marine the small vessel replacement programme, the yard will fail. On all those scores, will the Deputy First Minister agree to implement actions against all those points as a basis for a new commercial shipbuilding strategy for Scotland? Again, there's a lot in what Mr Sweeney says. I hope he takes some comfort from my answers to Katie Clark and Neil Bibby, because I'm committed to a long-term agenda for Ferguson and taking the necessary steps to ensure that that can be realised. Some of what, as a number of elements in what Mr Sweeney put to me, which are really detailed and complex propositions that have to be worked through very carefully, but I do give him assurance that the Government is committed to such a process. I want to clarify the word handover. You say that the vessels will be handed over in autumn 23 and autumn 24. Does that mean that they'll be handed over fully commissioned with enough crew time, enough crew appraisal and approval from class to go straight into service on those dates? Straight into service in autumn this year and next year? Or does it mean a further four-month delay? I actually don't know if I can be specific to the point that Mr Sweeney put to me. I understand that it's a serious point, but I'm not sure that I can give him quite the precision of answer about what will be the stage of crewing, but what is envisaged with the Glen Sannocks is that over the summer, which is before the handover date, there will be extensive sea trials under way of the vessel as part of the preparation for that handover. I don't know if I'm technically equipped to give a specific answer to Mr Mountain at that point, but I will question that point and write to him in due course of the nature so that I can give the clarity that his question merits. Thank you, cabinet secretary. With apologies to those who I wasn't able to call, we have overrun slightly and we now need to move to the next item of business, and there will be a brief pause before we do so.