Carillion involved in eight major Scottish public projects and employs 1,000 workers
Failed construction giant Carillion is involved in at least eight major public projects in Scotland and employs an estimated 1,000 people north of the Borders, it has emerged.
The firm, which has gone into liquidation, runs facilities management services in hospitals, housing associations and major building projects across Scotland, including at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the West of Scotland Housing Association.
The extent of Carillion’s involvement in Scotland came to light in official correspondence from economy secretary Keith Brown.
In a letter to Scottish Labour’s economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie, the minister said the Scottish Government was “continuing an extensive exercise to gather as much information as possible with respect to public and private contracts” involving the company.
Mr Brown said he believed the number of people employed by Carillion in Scotland was “close to 1000”, with ministers “working closely with the official receiver to obtain an accurate number”.
List of Scottish Government contracts with Carillion:
Scottish Labour has raised concerns about the stricken construction firm’s level of involvement in Scotland’s economy, which the party claims “goes far beyond” what the SNP has previously admitted.
Jackie Baillie MSP said: “It is deeply concerning that Carillion is involved in so many projects in Scotland, including hospitals, housing associations and railway stations.
“The company is clearly far more involved in the Scottish economy than the SNP has previously admitted, while SNP economy minister Keith Brown does not even know how many people Carillion actually employs in Scotland.
“This is unacceptable. The SNP has been sleepwalking through this crisis, leaving workers and businesses in the supply chain facing uncertainty.
“Scotland’s economy cannot take more shocks – what we need now is transparency.
“Instead of tinkering around the edges like the SNP, Scottish Labour believes we should come up with a new way of funding public sector projects that does not put huge profits in the pockets of shareholders – and it is imperative that the SNP conduct a review of public sector infrastructure projects without further delay.”
A spokesman for economy secretary Keith Brown said: “This is a spectacular own goal from Labour, who are only reminding people about the massive cost to the public purse of the ruinously expensive PFI deals they signed up to.
“This list of contracts, including those in the NHS, is dominated by Tory-style PFI deals which Labour agreed to.
“The reality is that Scotland has far less exposure to the collapse of Carillion than elsewhere in the UK.
“This is because we have not entered into the wholesale use of private firms to deliver public services in the same way the UK government has, under successive Tory, Labour and Lib Dem administrations.”