£460,000 deal for chemicals firm boss who backed indy
Labour MSP questions Covid contract
A chemicals firm run by independencesupporting businesses was awarded a £460,000 Covid- 19 contract without having to bid for it against rivals.
Scotmas was handed an emergency NHS National Services Scotland deal to supply chlorine tablets in June.
The company, which has its HQ in the Borders, was given the order by the Scottish Government agency without a competitive tendering process due to the coronavirus crisis.
The contract was finalised “without prior publication of a call for competition” to meet “additional demands during the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The Sunday Mail can reveal Scotmas’s chairman, Derek Cameron, and managing director, Alistair Cameron, both publicly supported independence in the run-up to the 2014 referendum.
Ali stair was among entrepreneurs who signed an open letter in support of leaving the UK. And in August 2014, the SNP’s of f icial Twitter account posted a quote from Derek stating: “The powers of devo have been good but with Yes and indy we can do so much more.” Scotmas said Derek retired in March on health grounds but he is still listed on Companies House records as a director and named on the firm’s website as chairman.
The awarding of the contract was last night questioned by Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who said: “We have seen these types of contracts awarded at a UK level where no competitive tendering have taken place and the SNP have rightly criticised it.
“I wonder what SNP backbenchers will say about this contract being awarded without tender?”
Scotmas said: “In common with a number of Scottish manufacturers, we were approached by NHS Scotland in May 2020 and asked to significantly up scale our existing production of disinfectant products and PPE in response to an immediate risk to public health. At no time were officials from the Scottish Government involved in the procurement process.
“Mr Derek Cameron sold the business and retired on health grounds in March 2020. Any suggestion of his involvement in this contract award is entirely false and misleading.” Last week the Sunday Mail revealed how health leaders in Scotland handed contracts worth almost £ 400million to private firms during the Covid-19 crisis.
NHS National Ser v ices Scotland (NSS) said: “National Procurement, a division of NSS, has awarded a number of contracts on a ‘ direct award’ basis during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“These are contracts awarded to a company without that company having to go through a competitive tendering process. Ministers have no involvement in this process and NSS has no knowledge of the politics of any individuals connected to such companies. All companies, regardless of whether they are appointed directly or go through the lengthy compet it ive tendering process, must fully demonstrate their capability and capacity to deliver fully on the contract , within the required timescales and at a fair agreed price.”