Ferguson Marine's new boss hailed by finance secretary

Kate Forbes described Tim Hair — whose current total publicly-funded pay packet since being hired in 2019 has reached £1.2m — as the 'right' man to steer the yard towards a long term future.

In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph, Ms Forbes praised the 'committed' Ferguson workforce and indicated that the Scottish Government could reward staff with further work in replenishing the country's ferries fleet.

But she insisted that that the yard — currently working on the five-years-late MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802 — must also become competitive on the international stage.

Ms Forbes said she recognised the argument for all future CalMac work to be awarded to Ferguson, but added: "It isn't sufficient to secure the long term objectives for the yard.

"Even if we end up in a position where CalMac is procuring vessels via Ferguson, we still need to ensure that there's a long term pipeline [of work] and that has to come from being internationally competitive.

"However, when it comes to procurement, and obviously we've set out our infrastructure investment of £580m for replacing vessels and also investing in harbours, I think there's a role there [for Ferguson]."

The cabinet secretary acknowledged the argument that Brexit has removed barriers to the Scottish Government directly awarding work but said: "Aside from European Union rules there's still a responsibility on the government to ensure value for money.

"So there is a process still to go through."

Kate Forbes Scotland Finance Secretary visits Ferguson Marine, Port Glasgow.

Meanwhile, there is still no definitive delivery date for the two ferries at the centre of the fiasco which led to Ferguson being nationalised.

Ms Forbes said that Glen Sannox 'should be ready by next summer' and Hull 801 'for the spring afterwards'.

She added: "There's no doubt that ultimately the work needs to be done in order to meet those deadlines."

Asked about criticism of Mr Hair's salary, the minister said: "We need the right people and we need to be willing to pay for the right people.

"Obviously with any of these salaries, we've got to look at benchmarking across the market — what does it cost to get a good turnaround director in.

"So, you could say that it demonstrates our commitment to trying to get the best of the best to turnaround the yard."

Ms Forbes added: "At the end of the day we want to see those vessels delivered and everybody's accountable for that.

"I am certainly all over the detail of getting those vessels delivered and will ensure that there is that accountability for all of us in actually delivering the task that has been set."

Asked about the government's long term strategy for the shipyard, Ms Forbes said finishing the current ferries and ensuring a pipeline of work are the priorities.

She added: "That pipeline of work can't just rely on Scottish Government procurement.

"The yard has to be nationally and internationally competitive, which I am committed to supporting Ferguson to achieving.

"Right now, internationally, globally, we are seeing demand for shipbuilding increase significantly.

"Countries, governments, businesses are looking for yards to build vessels.

"We need to secure that work."

Ms Forbes hopes for the yard to 'rebuild' its reputation, which she said was 'lost for all the wrong reasons'.

The cabinet secretary added: "It certainly wasn't lost because of the quality of the work because these workers are some of the best workers there are when it comes to shipbuilding."

Ms Forbes said that offloading Ferguson back into private ownership was not on her 'radar'.

She said: "I am committed to ensuring a long term future for the yard

"I don't think our work will be done until we have been able to secure that long term future.

"I think it's going to require substantial ongoing support."

Ms Forbes added: "We're not there yet, and for as long as we're not there, I think the Scottish Government is going to be an active player in securing that future for the yard.

"It's very difficult to give a sense of what's going to happen in multiple years just because of the nature of the business, but certainly it's not something that crosses my radar in terms of potential future sales.

"Right now I think there's enough to be getting on with."