The Public Audit Committee looks at reports published by the Auditor General for Scotland to examine whether public money is being spent efficiently and effectively.
On 23 March 2022, the Auditor General for Scotland published New Vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides: Arrangements to deliver vessels 801 and 802.
The report says:
"The project to deliver two new dual-fuel ferries for the Clyde and Hebrides has been fraught with problems and delays for over six years. Vessels 801 and 802 were originally expected to be delivered in May and July 2018 respectively, and are now almost four years late. The total cost of the project is currently estimated to be at least £240 million, which is 2.5 times the original vessels’ budget. In February 2022, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited (FMPG) informed the Scottish Parliament of further delays to the vessels. It expects to provide an update on timescales, and any impact on costs, at the end of March 2022. FMPG will need to address significant operational challenges to deliver the vessels within the new timescales."
Read the Audit Scotland report on new vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides
The Committee agreed at its meeting on 14 November 2024, to close scrutiny of the report and to consider outstanding matters through its work programme.
The report was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
On Monday 31 October 2022 the Committee visited Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Limited to engage directly with the workforce and trade union representatives about their experiences of constructing vessels 801 and 802. What the Committee heard is summarised in the following anonymised note:
Read the note of the meeting with Ferguson Marine (116KB, pdf) posted 21 November 2022
The Committee published its report on 23 March 2023.
Read the response to the report from the Auditor General for Scotland, 18 May 2023 (113KB, pdf) posted 18 May 2023
Read the response to the report from the Minister for Transport, Scottish Government, 23 May 2023 (174KB, pdf) posted 23 May 2023
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during its scrutiny of the report:
Correspondence to the Convener from Gregor Irwin, Director-General Economy, Scottish Government, 25 October 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Scottish Government, 15 October 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Scottish Government, 27 September 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to John-Paul Marks, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, 27 September 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Scottish Government, 19 July 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 1 July 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 13 June 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Scottish Government, 13 June 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, Scottish Government, 13 June 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Mairi McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy, Scottish Government, 2 April 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 28 February 2024
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 25 January 2024
Correspondence from the Convener to Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 15 December 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Transport, Scottish Government, 27 November 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Alison Irvine, Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 24 November 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 23 November 2023
Correspondence from the Convener to Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Transport, Scottish Government, 2 November 2023
Correspondence from the Convener to Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive, Caledonian Maritime Assets, 30 October 2023
Correspondence to Alison Irvine, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 30 October 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Transport, Scottish Government, 13 October 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 21 August 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Gregor Irwin, Director-General Economy, Scottish Government, 7 July 2023
Correspondence from the Convener to Gregor Irwin, Director-General Economy, Scottish government, 16 June 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Kevin Stewart, Minister for Transport, Scottish Government, 23 May 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 18 May 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Jim McColl, former Director, Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited, 11 May 2023
Letter from the Convener to Alison Irvine, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 24 March 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Michelle Quinn, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 17 March 2023
Correspondence to the Convener from Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scottish Government, 5 January 2023
Letter to the Convener from David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) 22 December 2022
Letter to the Convener from Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Scottish Government, 21 December 2022
Letter from the Convener to David Tydeman, Chief Executive Officer, Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow), 16 December 2022
Letter to the Convener from Michelle Quinn, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 12 December 2022
Letter from the Convener to Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scottish Government, 9 December 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Alex Wright, 9 December 2022
Letter from the Convener to Michelle Quinn, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 9 December
Letter from the Convener to Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Scottish Government, 5 December 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scottish Government, 30 November 2022
Letter to the Convener from Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Scottish Government, 28 November 2022
Letter to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 25 November 2022
Submission to the Convener from Jim McColl, former Director Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited, 11 November 2022
Letter from the Convener to Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 10 November 2022
Letter from the Convener to Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Scottish Government, 10 November 2022
Letter from the Convener to Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, Scottish Government, 10 November 2022
Submission to the Convener from Joseph McKee, 8 November 2022
Submission to the Convener from George McGregor, 7 November 2022
Submission to the Convener from James Ferguson, 4 November 2022
Letter to the Convener from Michelle Quinn, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 28 October 2022
Letter to the Convener from Morag McNeil, Chair, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 21 October 2022
Letter to the Convener from Stuart McMillan MSP, 19 October 2022
Letter to the Convener from Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Scottish Government, 18 October 2022
Submission to the Convener from Euan Haig, 18 October 2022
Submission to the Convener from Alex Wright, 12 October 2022
Letter to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 6 October 2022
Letter from the Convener to Michelle Quinn, Interim Chief Executive, Transport Scotland, 30 September 2022
Letter from the Convener to Morag McNeil, Interim Chair, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 30 September 2022
Letter from the Convener to Stuart McMillan MSP, 29 September 2022
Letter from the Convener to Keith Brown MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, 29 September 2022
Submission to the Convener from Brian Fulton, Head of Business Support, Caledonian Maritime Asset Limited, 28 September 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Robert Trythall, 29 August 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Jim McColl, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Clyde Blowers Capital IM LLP, 12 August 2022
Updated Submission to the Convener from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 12 August 2022
Letter to the Convener from Willie Rennie MSP, 26 July 2022
Letter to the Convener from Colin Cook, Director of Economic Development, Scottish Government, 7 July 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Joe Reade, 2 July 2022
Submission to the Convener from Kevin Hobbs, Chief Executive Officer, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited, 29 June 2022
Submission to the Convener from Euan Haig, 29 June 2022
Letter to the Convener from Stephen Boyle, the Auditor General for Scotland, 28 June 2022
Submission to the Convener from David Middleton, former Chief Executive Transport Scotland, 24 June 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Jim McColl, former Director, Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited, 24 June 2022
Submission to the Convener from Graeme Dickson, former Director-General Enterprise, Environment and Innovation, Scottish Government, 23 June 2022
Submission to the Convener from Derek Mackay, former Minister for Transport and Islands, Scottish Government, 23 June 2022
Third submission to the Convener from Robert Trythall, 20 June 2022
Further correspondence to the Convener from Robert Trythall, 26 May 2022
Letter from the Convener to Graeme Dickson, former Director-General Enterprise, Environment and Innovation, Scottish Government, 26 May 2022
Letter from the Convener to David Middleton, former Chief Executive of Transport Scotland, 26 May 2022
Letter from the Convener to Derek Mackay, former Minister for Transport and Islands, Scottish Government, 26 May 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from John Sturrock, 26 April 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Joseph McKee, 21 April 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Drew Hamilton, 21 April 2022
Submission to the Convener from Robert Trythall, 21 April 2022
Submission to the Convener from Jim McColl, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Clyde Blowers Capital IM LLP, 4 April 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Dr Alfred Baird, 14 April 2022
Correspondence to the Convener from Neil Bibby MSP, 25 March 2022