Labour has called for greater co-operation between the UK and Scottish governments, claiming earlier action by Scottish Government and its agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) might have helped avert job losses at Glasgow's Railcare railway repair factory.
The Springburn works, part of Milton Keynes-based Railcare, went into administration earlier this month with the loss of 33 jobs, with a further 118 being lost in the south.
It has since emerged that, despite being an "account-managed" client of Scottish Enterprise, the agency was not aware of and did not inform the Scottish Government of the severity of Railcare's difficulties before the collapse, blocking the possibility of Government support through the procurement process. SE claims it was "only made fully aware of the extent of the crisis two weeks ago" and "immediately took action to contact our range of partners to extend further support".
Labour has contrasted the alleged lack of interaction between the company and its Government clients in Scotland with moves to stave off collapse by UK government departments, which included relief from national insurance contributions, help with tax credits, and provision of extra training funds.
Glasgow North East MP William Bain has asked if better use of "public procurement processes" in Scotland might have helped avert the collapse, saying: "When companies cross the border there should be joint responsibility for the public procurement processes involved. There is no excuse for lack of co-operation and co-ordination between the UK and Scottish Governments."
The party is now seeking copies of correspondence about Railcare between Scottish Enterprise and Scottish ministers under freedom of information rules, and has tabled parliamentary questions on the issue.
Scottish Enterprise declined to comment on a claim by Maryhill and Springburn MSP Patricia Ferguson that, prior to collapse, Railcare was on a limited-circulation "at-risk register" of troubled businesses needing special support from politicians and bureaucrats. An email to Ferguson from a Scottish Government official seen by the Sunday Herald claims the Government had been aware of Railcare's difficulties for several years, and did take steps to mitigate them.
"The recession hit the Springburn depot badly at the beginning of 2010 and the site began to run at a loss," the email says. "In the second quarter of 2011, additional funds were obtained and new orders won, but trading conditions remained difficult.
"All sources of funding (internal and external to SE) were investigated and Railcare were made fully aware of our investment specialist support and the support SDI (Scottish Development International) can provide for potential overseas investors."
Since the company's collapse, the Scottish Government has taken steps to support workers affected by redundancy through its advisory partnership action for continuing employment (PACE) initiative.
Railcare workers were left unpaid in the month before the appointment of insolvency firm BDO, which followed the collapse of a takeover bid for Railcare by €4 billion-revenue German rail engineering firm, Knorr-Bremse.
The administrators had said there had been several expressions of interest in the business, while workers had been given advance wages for August 1 to 10. On Friday, Bryan Jackson, joint administrator at BDO, said: "[We] have managed to stabilise the business and secure funds to pay the staff working through the administration. Following last week's pay packet for work between August 1 and 10, I can confirm that we are in a position to pay staff advance wages for the second third of the month.
"As ever, we continue to be grateful for the support of customers and Railcare staff through this challenging period. The company will continue to trade through administration, and we are hopeful of finding a buyer that can secure Railcare's long-term future."
An SE spokeswoman refused to be drawn on the existence of a risk register of companies in trouble.
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