Kate Forbes says 'urgent' decision needed on Ferguson Marine

Ms Forbes - who met with councillors, parliamentarians and union bosses at Inverclyde Council's headquarters - declared that questions regarding seven all-electric 'loch class' ferries and further investment in the yard required an 'urgent' decision.

The deputy FM - also Scotland's economy secretary - pledged after the 'positive' private meeting within the Municipal Buildings that the key decisions regarding Ferguson's future would be taken 'soon'.

But she stressed that the yard had to look beyond the small CalMac ferries to ensure its long-term future.

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Ms Forbes told the Telegraph: “There is no risk-free decision to be made. I know there are many who are in favour of a direct award and I understand the reasons for that.

“A direct award is very difficult legally and so I need to make sure that whatever decision we reach is going to actually lead to a sustainable future.

“These are also decisions that have to be made in collaboration with the cabinet secretary for transport because we also have to weigh up the value for taxpayers and also the needs of islanders who are waiting in anticipation for those seven new vessels.

“I have to weigh those two elements up alongside our commitment to a sustainable future for the yard and I hope to be able to make a decision sooner rather than later."

The Port Glasgow shipyard is hoping to be given the multiple ferries contract while it strives to win other work.

Shop steward Alex Logan, who is joint convenor of the GMB union at Ferguson's, said: “We’ve had a lot of dealings with Ms Forbes previously when she was in office, she’s positive and I think she would really love to do a direct award to the company, but she’s constrained.

“You’ve got to go right down the procurement laws and legal stuff, and everything is going to be up in the air until then.

“She’s saying her decision is imminent for the investment and an answer for the direct award, if it’s legal.”

Mr Logan added that the government was currently reviewing the yard’s latest request for new investment and said that he expected a decision in the very near future.

A proposal for £25m to be put into a new steel cutting line and IT upgrades was turned down last year, but a revised proposal for investment which would help the yard compete on the open market is now being looked at by the Scottish Government.

Mr Logan said: “The government is doing due diligence on that just now, obviously there was investment put in the last time and they’re not wanting to get caught out and end up in court.

“What they’re doing is taking their time and going through it to scrutinise it.

“We’ll just wait and see, they’re saying it should be soon, within days maybe.”

He continued: “The government has taken too long in my opinion from when we highlighted this a couple of years back.

“They should have made a decision quicker but as long as they get there in the end, I’ll be quite happy that we’ve got a secure future for the kids.”

Ms Forbes said: “It must be emphasised that in order for the yard to have that long-term future, it can’t just be the CalMac vessels.

“That doesn’t solve all of the challenge, it may fill a stop gap but the questions will remain in terms of a long-term future what happens next.

“These questions are still very much live, and I think we will continue working with the Ferguson management and workers in order to get to that sustainable footing we all want to get to.”

Inverclyde Council leader and Port Glasgow councillor Stephen McCabe told the Telegraph that he felt the meeting had been ‘pretty positive’ but highlighted the ‘difficult decisions’ which lie ahead for the Scottish Government.

He said: “We got information on timescales, we are talking about decisions within a matter of weeks rather than months.

“The government recognises that there is urgency.

“We had discussions around what the nature of any investment would look like and the issues around a direct award as well."

Mr McCabe added: "There was a consensus in the room that we absolutely want Ferguson's to survive, for investment in the yard, work for the yard, and for the yard to thrive.

"There's a strong cost benefit case for a direct award to Ferguson's.

"Ferguson's is the last commercial shipyard on the Clyde. We are a maritime nation. We cannot afford for this yard to close. 

"We need to build Scottish ferries in Scottish towns for Scottish people.

"It was a positive meeting but I'm not counting my chickens because tough decisions need to be made and they need to be made in a matter of weeks, not months."