Additional Payments made to Ferguson Marine: FOI release

Information requested

1. Two additional payments of £15M (in December 2022) and £6m (in March 2023) were made to Ferguson Marine to help with cash flow. Please provide ministerial approval and any related briefing or submission to ministers relating to these payments.
2. Please provide the total of each payment to Ferguson Marine made, what they were to cover, the dates they were made, and the overall total of all payments.
3. Please also indicate if this money is in addition or exclusive of the additional funding promised following the written authority in May 2023 (i.e. did this cash flow funding form part of the additional circa £70m or is it on top of that figure).

Response

May we take this opportunity to apologise for the lateness of providing this response.

1) Two additional payments of £15M (in December 2022) and £6m (in March 2023) were made to Ferguson Marine to help with cash flow. Please provide ministerial approval and any related briefing or submission to ministers relating to these payments.

• To clarify, these were not additional payments, but were increases in the budgetary provision to FMPG. The capital budget for Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG) was increased on two occasions, once by £15 million in December 2022 and a second time by a further £6 million in March 2023. These 2 budget increases were both included in the Spring Budget Revision in March 2023.

2) Please provide the total of each payment to Ferguson Marine made, what they were to cover, the dates they were made, and the overall total of all payments.

• We have interpreted the scope of this part of your request for information as separate from point 1 above.
• As explained, the amounts you cite in part 1 of your request for information are not payments but budget amounts.
• We have provided you with some information relating to part 2 of your request which was previously released as part of FOI reference 202300348096 and offer further information in the annex relating to an exemption which applies to this part of your request, as we intend to publish some of the information you have requested.
• FMPG are required to submit monthly payment applications to pay salaries, overheads and other costs specifically relating to the build of vessels 801 and 802. These monthly payment applications are reviewed by the Scottish Government before being paid.
• The values of payments made to FMPG during 2022/23 are published on the Scottish Government’s website as part of monthly reporting of spend in excess of £25,000 (Government spend over £25,000: monthly reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). The total amount spent in relation to vessels 801 and 802 in 2022/23 was £63.221 million.

3) Please also indicate if this money is in addition or exclusive of the additional funding promised following the written authority in May 2023 (i.e. did this cash flow funding form part of the additional circa £70m or is it on top of that figure).

• The written authority issued in May 2023 related to future costs to complete the vessels. The increased budget referred to in point 1 related to the 2022/23 financial year.

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FOI 202300368735 - Information Released - Annex

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