First Minister Humza Yousaf says there will be no bonuses for ferry bosses

No bonuses should be paid to the chief executive of the shipyard in charge of delivering the two delayed and over budget ferries, the First Minister has said.

Humza Yousaf made the statement in response to questions from Douglas Ross at FMQs, following a warning from the auditor general this morning about extra costs for the vessels.

Ross told the FM to “stop the secrecy”, asking: “How much higher is the real cost to the taxpayer going to be to deliver these two ferries?”

He also raised the fact bonuses were still available to senior officers at the shipyard if performance targets were met. “What on earth could those bonuses possibly be for?" he asked.

The auditor general has previously said it was “unacceptable” that bonuses had been paid to directors and the Scottish Government had also expressed concern.

Yousaf said a process of due diligence was underway which would provide more certainty on the final cost of the ferries.

On bonuses, he said: “I have asked if they can not be paid. The advice coming back is that they are a contractual obligation. Now for future bonuses, for any future discussion of consideration of bonuses, I’ve made it clear there should not be bonuses paid in relation to vessels 801 and 802. That’s been made clear.”

“There should not be bonuses in 2023/24,” he added.

Meanwhile, Labour's Anas Sarwar raised the ballooning cost of the new Barlinnie prison.

Initial estimates for the project was £100m but it is now reported to be £400m. Yousaf pointed to increases in construction costs due to economic changes. 

Sarwar accused the government of failing to manage public finances, costing billions. 

He added the FM was “really desperate” for blaming a 300 per cent increase on global factors.