• Greene: SNP Government must finally come clean on Gupta deals
• Dwr Cymru redundancies – workers paying the price for systematic leadership failures
• Greene challenges First Minister on “reward for failure” with public execs
• Government cannot say whether Lochaber billet plant still on cards

Greene: SNP Government must finally come clean on Gupta deals

Ahead of SNP ministers making a statement to parliament later today, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP has urged them to “come clean” on their government’s deals with Sanjeev Gupta’s troubled business empire and taxpayer exposure.

Scottish Liberal Democrats secured a parliamentary statement from the government on Sanjeev Gupta’s business operations in Scotland.

Mr Gupta acquired the Dalzell Steelworks in a controversial back-to-back deal facilitated by the Scottish Government, exposing taxpayers to environmental clean-up costs in the event of a wider collapse. He also owns the Lochaber aluminium plant, which owes £7 million in loans to Scottish taxpayers and is also backed by hundreds of millions of pounds of Scottish Government guarantees. Years of media reporting have suggested that the accounts for both have gone unfiled.

The Scottish Government have so far refused to say whether it has obtained financial guarantees relating to the financing for the tycoon’s Scottish businesses.

Last month, a judge found that the parent group of Gupta’ GFG Alliance has 15 entities in insolvency proceedings across nine jurisdictions.

Jamie Greene said:

The SNP Government has never been upfront about its dealings with Sanjeev Gupta.

Mr Gupta’s business operations in Scotland involve hundreds of Scottish workers and multi-million-pound taxpayer-backed loans. But whenever my party has raised the latest worrying development concerning the GFG Alliance with ministers, they insist everything is rosy.

Not a single minister has ever been able to explain when the loans are likely to be paid back, whether Mr Gupta’s businesses are in breach of their deals with the government and what this could all mean for Scottish taxpayers.

As Deputy Convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee, I am regularly involved in scrutinizing how the government is using public money. That task, however, is made no easier by minister after minister dodging basic questions about their relationship with Mr Gupta.

With Gupta’s business empire in the spotlight, it is time for the government to come clean with MSPs and the public about what discussions it has had with the GFG Alliance, whether taxpayers could be left picking up the pieces and, critically for how much.

Dwr Cymru redundancies – workers paying the price for systematic leadership failures

Responding to the news that Dwr Cymru will cut 500 jobs over the next two years, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said:

Workers are now paying the price for systematic leadership failures over many years at Dwr Cymru.

While Dwr Cymru’s CEO received remuneration of £892,000 in 2021 alone, the leadership team at Dwr Cymru presided over some of the highest levels of sewage dumping in the entire UK, extremely high levels of leaking pipes and wasted water and soaring bills for Welsh customers.

I’m extremely concerned about what these job cuts will mean for tackling all of these issues. It is as clear as day that we need to end the wild west that is the water industry and introduce regulation with real teeth to get on top of these issues.

Greene challenges First Minister on “reward for failure” with public execs

Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Liberal Democrat Jamie Greene MSP challenged John Swinney over “a growing trend of reward for failure” in settlement agreements for senior public executives.

As well as the £4 million shelled out by the Scottish Government on public-sector pay-offs last year, Mr Greene highlighted that there have been 300 public sector pay-offs over the last five years. These have cost £10 million in public money and a third came with confidentiality clauses.

Speaking in the chamber, Jamie Greene said:

£4 million of public money was spent on public sector pay-offs between 2023 and 2024.

The year before it was £1.5 million.

In fact, over the last five years, there have been 300 such settlements, costing £10 million of public money. And a third of those came with confidentiality clauses attached to them.

My primary concern about all of this is what seems to be a growing trend of reward for failure amongst senior public executives, be it Ferguson Marine, the Water Industry Commission, the NHS, the SQA.

Well-paid civil servants are walking away from failure with a large cheque in return for a gagging order, while those at the bottom of the pay ladder are struggling.

So can I ask the Scottish Government if they think these huge pay-offs are appropriate and when, First Minister, will we see an end to the secrecy around these deals as well?

Government cannot say whether Lochaber billet plant still on cards

Scottish Liberal Democrat economy spokesperson Jamie Greene MSP has today accused the SNP government of “permanent evasion” after they could not say whether there are still plans for a new billet plant at Sanjeev Gupta’s Lochaber smelter.

During a parliamentary statement about Mr Gupta’s Scottish businesses, Jamie Greene asked the government for an update on the new billet plant proposed for the Lochaber site.

In response, Business Minister Ivan McKee dodged the question and did not say whether those plans are still in place.

In 2021, Highland councillors approved plans for a recycling and aluminium billet plant at Lochaber. It is hoped the new plant would open up more markets for the site.

Jamie Greene said:

It beggars belief that SNP ministers are still refusing to give clear and straight answers on all this.

I am very concerned that the minister cannot say whether there are still plans for a new billet plant at Lochaber.

Workers at the plant deserve better than a total absence of any detail or commitment. All they are getting from this government is permanent evasion.

The Scottish Government must urgently confirm one way or another whether these plans have been shelved.