CALEDONIAN MACBRAYNE FERRIES

That this House notes that more than £17 million of taxpayers' money has been spent on tendering of Caledonian MacBrayne ferries, which provide a lifeline service to the islands of Scotland; also notes that Calmac is now the only bidder and believes the tendering process should be halted and the EU State Aid Guidelines should be challenged to avoid further unnecessary costs to the taxpayer; further notes that Caledonian MacBrayne's payroll has been moved offshore to a Guernsey-based agency, resulting in the loss of some £2 million in National Insurance contributions to the Exchequer; and believes that there is no justification for this continued tax avoidance and that the Scottish Executive should take steps to end the offshoring of Caledonian MacBrayne's workforce.