Chamber and committees

Did it go to the Cabinet, for example?

Thank you very much.

Can you describe the timeline of events that led to the director-general economy’s request for a written authority?

Thanks for that. I bring in Craig Hoy, who has a couple of questions to put to you.

That is helpful. Willie Coffey has some questions to put to you.

Yes—okay. Craig Hoy has some questions.

As somebody who was born and brought up an islander, how do you think people will react to your answer, which suggests that the reason why the two vessels—both vessels—are five years late and three and a half times over budget is inflationary pressures and supply chain difficulties?

Okay. I just reflect on the fact that, with regard to the supply chain, components were ordered so far in advance that they were rusting in the yard because they had not been used.

Bill Kidd has a question for you.

Okay. But in light of that, I still question why Gregor Irwin—who was then sitting in the chair that you are sitting in this morning—was contemplating, in co-operation with Audit Scotland, releasing some of that material.

But he did not know, two weeks ago, that the release of the report—which you have just described as a report that, in its entirety, has got intellectual property rights attached to it—would jeopardise the commercial future of the yard.

I have just got one final public audit question for you, cabinet secretary. It is on a much smaller scale, but it is quite important to us. It concerns the cost of the consultants. In the evidence session on 1 June, Mr Irwin said that the cost of the First Marine International report came in at a quarter of a million pounds for six months’ work. He described it as

“first-class external independent technical advice”,

and acknowledged that

“that sort of advice might not come cheap”.—[Official Report, Public Audit Committee, 1 June 2023; c 13.]

So that was six months’ work for the FMI report at a cost of a quarter of a million pounds.

In a parliamentary answer at the weekend, we were told that the cost of the Teneo report was nearly three times that amount—an estimated £620,000. Admittedly, that was not for six months’ work—I think that Ms Hall said earlier that it was for eight months’ work. Given that, earlier, Mr Cook said that the Teneo report just looked at value for money, why on earth is it costing such a huge amount of money? In light of that, why on earth is none of that report able to be published?