McGill’s In Legal Action Against Scottish Government Over Funding Snub

McGill’s Group has launched a "multi-million pound" legal action after being rejected as part of a Scottish Government scheme for electric buses.

It was announced in March that the latest round of funding for the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) had been allocated, including 100 vehicles for Alexander Dennis.

Transport Scotland announced £45million in Government cash for five bus operators, with Rock Road and Lothian Buses set to purchase from the Falkirk-based manufacturer.

However, McGill's, which is owned by two of Scottish Labour's biggest donors in the shape of James and Sandy Easdale, said it would seek legal advice, claiming its bid would have been worth £16m to Alexander Dennis.

Now McGill's - the UK's largest independent bus operator - has confirmed that it has launched a legal action against the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland.

McGill's argues that the Government breached the UK Subsidy Control Act 2022. They assert that no separate subsidy control assessment was conducted for ScotZEB3, and that the funding is being used to subsidise new, competing routes rather than upgrading existing diesel fleets.

The bus operator seeks to challenge how the bids were scored, overturn the funding decision, and force a comprehensive rethink of how zero-emission subsidies are allocated.

McGill’s co-owner Sandy Easdale said: “The move would have boosted Scottish jobs and enabled it to remove more diesel vehicles from its fleet across Scotland. The largest share - £13 million - was awarded to coach firm Ember to buy 100 Chinese electric coaches to expand its existing network, which would not result in any diesel vehicles being replaced.

“We have questionable decisions being made on large amounts of public money by nameless people in secret rooms who are trying to avoid scrutiny. Decisions on taxpayers' sums of this magnitude should be fully transparent and decision makers should be willing to be held accountable.”

Chairman Ralph Roberts said: “It now appears the fund is being used to support new competing services rather than replace existing diesel fleets, which raises serious questions about whether it is delivering on its stated aims.”

Co-owner James Easdale added: “There is also a fundamental question about fairness and transparency in how this funding has been allocated. We have looked very closely at the scoring process and reached the inevitable conclusion that a legal appeal had to be submitted.”

In response, a Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware that McGill’s Buses has submitted a claim to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. As this matter relates to legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage."