Chamber and committees

It is a question of transparency and openness about how the Government dealt with this. I think that it is a legitimate question. For example, we were told by the now director general for net zero, Mr Brannen, that decisions of the “gravity and size”—that was his expression—of ScotRail being nationalised would go to Cabinet. I am just trying to understand whether the decision to nationalise the yard at Port Glasgow would have been a Cabinet-level decision.

Okay. I will bring in the deputy convener now.

Thank you very much.

We are pressed for time, but I turn to Colin Beattie to ask a series of questions.

Good morning. I welcome everyone to the 23rd meeting in 2023 of the Public Audit Committee.

The first item on our agenda is a decision whether to take agenda items 4 and 5 in private. Do members of the committee agree to do so?

Members indicated agreement.

Agenda item 2 is consideration of the Scottish Government’s response to the report that the committee produced in spring of this year, “New vessels for the Clyde and Hebrides: Arrangements to deliver vessels 801 and 802”.

I welcome to the meeting Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Transport, who is joined by Colin Cook, director for economic development, Scottish Government and, from Transport Scotland, Alison Irvine, interim chief executive, and Chris Wilcock, head of ferries unit.

We have a number of questions to ask, minister, but first I invite you to make a short opening statement.

For clarification, you talk about new auditors, but that is because there is a rotation process, is there not? It is no longer Grant Thornton but a different firm that is auditing your accounts on behalf of Audit Scotland.

I invite our deputy convener, Sharon Dowey, to put a question or two to you.

But do you accept the findings and recommendations of the Audit Scotland report?

Given Mr Cook’s response, I note that the evidence that we took from Mr Mackay was that the letter that he signed to Mr McMillan had been prepared by his officials.

Given Mr Wilcock’s point, I note that the request for that information from Transport Scotland was made by the committee in November 2022. It finally saw the light of day in March 2023 following an FOI trawl, not because the department had been sufficiently adept at finding it for us when we first asked for it back in November. That was not a one-off. There was a pattern, which Mr Beattie will speak about shortly.

I do not know whether Graham Simpson has any further questions to put. I he had not, that concludes this morning’s session.

I thank all the witnesses from Transport Scotland and Scottish Canals for their time and evidence. We might want to follow up on some points, and we, as a committee, will need to consider our next steps; for example, whether we need to bring you back in before next year or whether we are not going to see you again for a long time or whatever. All that is not entirely in our hands, you understand.

I thank you again for your time and patience this morning. As I said, we will consider our next steps. There are certainly some points that we might want to follow up with you in writing.

I draw the public part of this morning’s committee to a close.

But what is the Government’s response to it? We did not get a response from Kevin Stewart, so we are asking you this morning.