‘We’re not as good as we think we are’

Sir, – If Bifab’s £100m, contract, out of a total investment of £2.6bn, is the “substantial” part of Scottish industries’ share of the Beatrice project something has gone terribly wrong between Alex Salmond’s “Saudi Arabia of Renewables” hype and actual delivery.

The same points could be made about the offshore decommissioning opportunity, the low Scottish content in the Forth Crossing and the failure of Scottish shipbuilding to take advantage of the market for supply vessels on its doorstep, an opportunity snapped up by Norway, among others.

And even the much hyped Scottish software industry is unimpressive.

Fortunes have been vastly overspent by the Scottish Government on police for a custom written system built for the Spanish Guardia Civil, NHS24 and farm payments. And given the ridiculous potential for developing systems for the new benefits agency, taxation powers and up to 111 EU powers that the SNP are clamouring for, you’d think we would have a burgeoning IT industry.

In fact, we don’t have one Scottish owned or based company capable of taking on the overall commercial or technical risk of these projects.

The reasons for this are many and varied but they start with the phrase “we’re not as good as we think we are, or we were”. And until we admit that and do something about it, things will get worse. Allan Sutherland. 1 Willow Row, Stonehaven.

Picture: PA. The Bifab protest before the rescue package was announced.