Fuller review into ferries deal needed, MSPs told

Work is still being carried out on the Glen Sannox

Scotland's auditor general has called for a fuller review of the building of two new controversial ferries on the Clyde.

Stephen Boyle told a Holyrood committee that it would be too "glib" to say that lessons could be learned over failings which emerged over their construction.

The ferries are years late and two-and-a-half times over budget.

Mr Boyle also expressed frustration at a lack of government documentation surrounding the contracts. 

Last month an Audit Scotland investigation found that the contract for the CalMac ferries was approved by ministers without normal financial safeguards.

It was unable to establish why the £97m order was given to the Port Glasgow-based Ferguson Marine shipyard without such guarantees as there was "insufficient documentary evidence".

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The ships, still being built at the Port Glasgow yard, will be five years late and could cost more than £250m.

The Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802 are now expected to be completed between March and May 2023 and between October and December 2023 respectively.

The second ship, known as Hull 802, is still under construction in Port Glasgow

Appearing before Holyrood's Public Audit Committee, Mr Boyle said: "There needs to be a fuller review. Lessons learned feels too glib to describe the circumstances before us, of the circumstances that took place in arriving at a contract that is many years late, two-and-a-half times the original budget, to establish how these ought to be delivered in the future.

"We haven't done that in its entirety given the fact that... the project is still being undertaken, but we share the substance of your concern that there needs to be a fuller review."

Mr Boyle also expressed his frustration at the lack of documentation.

"There's clearly a frustration from us that we weren't able to review what we would consider to be all the relevant evidence," he said.

"Our judgment is not that evidence has been withheld from us during the course of our audit work, but rather that an important piece of documentary evidence wasn't prepared to arrive at the judgment that ministers arrived at - to accept the scale of risk so unusual in the scale of this contract and contrary to the advice of the public body (Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited) which oversees the contract."

He added: "I'm sure it's a matter that the civil service will want to reflect on, about how they best document important decisions that significantly influence not just the use of public money but the provision of extremely important aspects of public services."

Audit Scotland's report found problems had continued after the Ferguson yard was nationalised by the Scottish government in 2019.

It revealed that as recently as January there were still 175 technical, safety or quality issues be resolved - including some that could prevent the issuing of a passenger safety certificate by regulators.

Last month, MSPs were informed of the latest delays to the project, which arose after it was discovered cables installed in one hull were too short to reach equipment.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes also warned MSPs there was possibility that new problems may emerge during the commissioning process, although she insisted the ships would be completed.

Committee convener Richard Leonard invited Mr Boyle back to give evidence again next week, before a decision is taken on what next steps will be taken.

Reports suggest they could include holding a short inquiry into the scandal.