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Michelle Hegarty’s point suggests that that is a lesson that has been learned: there is an overall project cost.

This is my last point, convener. Was the scope of the project agreed at the outset, or is that something that has been added to over multiple years?

We spoke about decluttering earlier. I am concerned that such an office would add more clutter to the landscape.

It does not seem as though the corporate body had any real knowledge—it was not presented with the facts about what the project was actually going to do and what the overall cost would be. The SPCB seems to have been as much in the dark as the finance committee at that time.

From what you have read so far, what do you think are the key challenges that the Scottish economy faces at present?

That would be good, but would we not get full assurance if a proper investigation were to be done into the decision making on the contract?

A full investigation would bring all those things together; it would show what has happened and what has gone wrong, and it would show the lessons learned and improvements that have been made so that the committee can be assured that everything is well.

We appreciate your coming to the committee, of course. However, from our point of view, Leslie Evans was still employed and had relevant experience from which the committee could have learned, but she did not come.

We talk about openness and transparency, but there are missing records from Ferguson’s, questions about guarantees and legalities at Lochaber, Leslie Evans refusing to come to the committee, and the Scottish Information Commissioner ruling that the Scottish Government is withholding legal information that it could provide. Do you accept that there is a perception that, when it comes to openness and transparency, something is wrong that needs to be fixed quickly?

Thank you.

I will be quick, because of the time. On the missing records related to the Ferguson Marine contract, how can we be assured that lessons have been learned and improvements made when it comes to record keeping and recording decisions correctly?