Chamber and committees

Okay.

Mr Rhatigan, you mentioned procuring expertise and so on. I noticed that one of the functions of the operations and asset management unit is to procure the services of commercial advisers. Those are consultants, presumably. How much money has been spent in the past 12 months on consultants?

Was that all in connection with Ferguson Marine, or was it also in connection with other ventures?

I will leave that there, because of time, and invite Colin Beattie to put some questions to you.

Where is the division located?

Okay. Finally from me, you have mentioned the expression “in distress” a couple of times. Could you define what you mean by “in distress”? How do you decide that a business is “in distress” and might require intervention?

Thank you very much. At the start of this morning’s evidence session, I said that we were hoping for some illumination, and I think that we have had quite a lot of illumination actually. It has been a useful evidence session. We might still have some unanswered questions that we want to put to you, and we might follow those up with you.

I thank you, director general, for your time and for the range of questions that you have been able to field. Mr Rhatigan and Mr Cook in particular, I thank you both for answering some more far-fetched and difficult questions than you were perhaps anticipating before you came in—[Interruption.] I am speaking about my own questions. [Laughter.]

Thank you very much indeed for your co-operation this morning. With that, I move the meeting into private session.

And is directly accountable to ministers.

Yes, it was. Thank you.

Secondly, you said that you thought that the global refinancing would need to be completed before the investment in the billet plant would be made. What happens if that does not materialise?

Okay, thank you. I am going to bring in our deputy convener, but before I do so I have a couple of quick questions, which I hope will have quick answers.

Mr Rhatigan, did you say that the guarantee that the Scottish Government struck with GFG Alliance was also offered, via Rio Tinto, to the other four prospective bidders?

And the venue of that is?