Swinney did ‘nothing’ to save bus jobs says Sarwar

Mr Sarwar cited a letter from August 2024 — first disclosed in The Herald — in which Paul Soubry, president and chief executive of Alexander Dennis’s parent company NFI Group, wrote directly to the SNP leader warning that the Government’s procurement decisions risked undermining Scotland’s domestic bus manufacturing industry.

READ MORE

• ‘Absurd’ no longer an option: Simpson defends 'costly and complex' plan to sack MSPs
• No ambition, no leadership, no vision: Brutal Harvie tears into Swinney at final FMQs
• Why our politicians must declare a mental health emergency

The company has since proposed consolidating its manufacturing operations in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, putting around 400 jobs at risk in Falkirk and Larbert.

“John Swinney received a letter almost a year ago directly from the company,” Mr Sarwar told MSPs, “setting out how his decision to buy buses from China instead of from Scotland was putting the company and jobs at risk.”

“He did nothing for the skilled workforce. But last week, as usual, he tried to find someone else to blame for his own failure by talking about UK procurement laws — laws that did not stop Andy Burnham buying Scottish buses, but somehow stop this SNP Scottish Government.”

Mr Swinney rejected the accusation, insisting the Scottish Government had taken action following the August letter, including setting up work between the firm and Scottish Enterprise.

He said ministers had maintained a “positive dialogue” with Alexander Dennis, which had “expressed appreciation” for Government support, including £58 million in zero-emission bus funding.

“We established work for Scottish Enterprise with the company to support the company in securing its future,” he said. “That work was taken forward as a consequence of that dialogue.”

But critics said the scale of the support did not match the urgency of the warning from Mr Soubry, who in his letter expressed “regret” that Scottish Government decisions had left the firm feeling it had “no choice but to reconsider our entire investment in the Scottish operations of Alexander Dennis”.

The Scottish Labour leader also pointed to procurement data showing that since receiving the letter, the Scottish Government had not ordered a single bus from Alexander Dennis, while Greater Manchester — operating under the same UK legal framework — had placed significantly more orders.

In a new letter from UK Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden to Mr Sarwar, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster acknowledged that while UK subsidy rules prevent tying grants to domestic purchases, there is nothing to stop governments awarding subsidies directly to manufacturers such as Alexander Dennis.

(Image: Cabinet Office)

He also said the Scottish Government could use the Crown Commercial Service framework — where Alexander Dennis is already a supplier — to apply social value criteria favouring local industry or to issue a direct award. Under the new Procurement Act, bids from countries such as China, which are not party to UK trade agreements, can also be lawfully disregarded.

Mr McFadden wrote: “The Subsidy Control Act does not prevent manufacturers, such as Alexander Dennis, receiving subsidies directly and this remains an open, and viable, option for the Scottish Government.”

He added that the Procurement Act “allows contracting authorities to disregard bids from non-treaty state suppliers, which includes countries like China”.

Alexander Dennis has argued that Scottish Government policy failed to align with its own just transition principles, noting that 83% of orders under the second phase of the Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB2) went to manufacturers in China and Egypt. The company received just 17% of the 252-bus order, despite its long-standing presence in Falkirk and years of support from Scottish Enterprise.