Chamber and committees

—heading for Turkey because the Government-owned yard did not even bid for them that it could have been worse.

This is arrogance from an SNP Government that has been in power for far too long.

Ministers should be held to account and they should resign—

I will give way in a second.

That is just like all the other supine back benchers this afternoon who have not uttered a word of criticism of the Government.

—if they do not get this fixed.

To ask the Scottish Government what work it and Police Scotland have undertaken to ensure that police officers have access to additional trained mental health workers. (S6O-00960)

What I said was not inaccurate in any way. There was not one word of criticism by the member about the Government or the delays to the ferries that have led to the situation in his constituency. If he is going to stand up for his constituents, he has to stand up to the Government.

Alex Cole-Hamilton referred to the open Government action plan. I can guarantee that it is a riveting read and I recommend it. As ever, the Government claims that its approach is “world-leading” and pioneering. It boldly states:

“An Open Government ... gives the public information about the decisions it makes ... supports people to understand and influence those decisions ... and—

this is the best bit—

“values and encourages accountability”.

Despite what Ivan McKee said in his opening remarks, the Government has failed on every part of the document. Take project Neptune. The Government agreed to an investigation by Ernst & Young. Its report has been ready for a long time. Have we seen it? Despite repeated promises that we would, no, we have not. If we have an open Government, it should publish that report without delay.

Jamie Halcro-Johnston mentioned Audit Scotland. Audit Scotland said that there was a lack of transparent decision making, and then continued:

“There is insufficient documentary evidence to explain why Scottish ministers accepted the risks and were content to approve the contract award in October 2015.”

Kate Forbes said that documents were public. Audit Scotland disagrees and says that evidence has not been forthcoming. Where is that evidence? If it does not exist, why on earth does it not exist? This was a critical decision involving hundreds of millions of pounds and two important ferries for the constituents of the members who have spoken this afternoon. We have not seen those documents. If we have an open Government, they should be published without delay.

Then, in a new low, we saw in this very chamber the First Minister point the finger at Derek Mackay, who is no longer here to defend himself. We only later discovered that he was not involved in the sign-off. Perhaps another minister was, but we have still not been told which ministers were responsible. If we have an open Government, we need to know exactly which ministers made that decision. On project Neptune, on Audit Scotland and on Derek Mackay, the SNP Government is mired in secrecy.

The open Government action plan emphasises that there must be accountability but, despite the delays, the cost overruns, the waste of public funds and the betrayal of the shipyard workers and the islanders who are still waiting, no minister has been held accountable. Accountability is at the heart of our democratic system. If ministers think that their jobs are secure no matter how many cock-ups they make, no matter how many mistakes they make and no matter how many things they get wrong, our democracy is fatally undermined.

Yet no minister has resigned. Other politicians have resigned for far less. David McLetchie resigned because of taxi bills. Henry McLeish went as a result of his office rent in Glenrothes. Wendy Alexander went for £995. SNP ministers waste hundreds of millions of pounds, but everyone keeps their job, their salary and their ministerial car. What will it take for ministers to resign? How bad does it have to get? Will the costs have to go to £260 million, £300 million or £400 million, or will they keep their jobs no matter how high the price goes?

If construction is delayed by another three months—or a year or two years—will anybody go? Will the minister resign if future ferry contracts do not go to Ferguson, just like the ones that have gone to Turkey? I bet that they do not. There is not a chance that a minister in this Government is going to resign, because they are more interested in looking after themselves than in serving the public in this country.

The First Minister does not think that it is bad enough yet. Boris Johnson is refusing to resign no matter how many “partygate” fines he gets. However, I did not think that the moral backbone of Boris Johnson was the gold standard to which the SNP aspires, so I think that we should be told: will any minister be held to account for this utter shambles? The ferries are four years late and three times over budget, islanders are without lifeline services and the reputation of a shipyard with a proud heritage has been trashed by terrible leadership. What is the response from the SNP Government? Just be grateful—it could have been worse.

Let the minister tell the taxpayers that they should be grateful because it could have been worse; tell the care workers who are desperate for a pay rise that it could have been worse; tell the islanders who are stuck at harbours waiting on their broken ferries to be fixed once again that it could have been worse; and tell the shipyard workers who see orders for new ferries—

A survey found that 29 per cent of officers were experiencing moderate burn-out, a further 16 per cent endured high levels of burn-out and one third of officers went to work when they were mentally unwell.

As the minister has just mentioned, Police Scotland has an employee assistance programme that aims to help officers with their mental health. If officers need more support than the six one-hour sessions on offer, they are told that there is nothing more for them. Why have the worst-affected officers been left without the support that they deserve?

I thought that Kenny Gibson summed up things extremely well when he said that the situation on Arran is “awful” and that it is “chaos”. He demanded urgent action from his own SNP Government. I contrast that with Alasdair Allan, who made not a peep of criticism of the Government for the delays that directly affect his constituency.

It is depressing that the minister comes back to the chamber and reports on yet more disputes with the UK Government. His inability to reach agreement with the UK Government is hampering our efforts in this area. We need better from our two Governments. That is important because, since the Scottish National Party came to power 15 years ago, the trade deficit has grown significantly. What will be the effect on the trade deficit of awarding two ferry contracts to Turkey and of constructing in the far east many of Scotland’s offshore wind farms?

Despite the war in Ukraine, the pandemic that is raging, with Scotland having the highest infection rates in the whole of the UK, the enormous hospital waiting times, the fact that people are desperate for care home packages and the ferries construction scandal, the cabinet secretary carries on regardless. If even independence supporters do not think that there should be an independence referendum now, why is he carrying on regardless?