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Thank you for that clarification. Is it the regulator’s view that that money was well spent and that the outcomes for tenants were positive enough?

I invite you to say a few words about compliance, which is another issue that has been brought to the committee In its evidence, Co-operatives UK told us that it thought that the regulator focuses a bit too much on compliance, to the exclusion of, let us say, enabling and facilitating innovation. It pointed to differences between the regulatory framework as it applies to bigger associations and to smaller ones, and asked, I suppose, whether one size fits all. What are your views on that? Is the compliance regulatory framework flexible enough to allow development, growth and innovation to take place?

It said, for example, that housing co-ops are a different model from other housing management systems, and that smaller associations sometimes feel overburdened by the regulatory framework that impacts on them, whereas larger organisations can cope pretty well.

I suppose that the question for you is whether you apply flexibility in how you deal with smaller housing co-ops, for example, rather than just imposing on them the regulatory framework that must be obeyed. That is really where we are. They felt that there was a lack of flexibility on your part in dealing with them.

Would you say that cost of the two that I mentioned—nearly £1 million—was money well spent and that the outcomes were positive for tenants?

It is partly to correct the record on my part. When I was talking about the intervention costs earlier, I should have said that it was the Dalmuir Park Housing Association intervention that, according to Patrick Gilbride, who gave us the evidence, cost £500,000, not Reidvale. What was that money spent on? What benefits were accrued? Ultimately, who decides whether that intervention was value for money?

In the interests of balance, the purpose of the meeting is to hear the Government’s view on the late submission of some of the evidence that the committee has received, and to allow it to provide an assurance to the committee about that. I thank the minister for doing that and for attending the meeting.

Exactly, convener—thank you very much. The focus is now firmly on Ayrshire. Dave McDowall is my colleague from Ayrshire, but I think that the questions could be answered by any of the colleagues round the table. First, I remind everyone of the broad aims of the Ayrshire growth deal. The funding package includes public funding of £250 million, and it is hoped to lever in £300 million of private sector investment and to create 7,000 jobs. Those were the stated objectives around four years ago. How far down that road would you say that we are?

My last question for you is this: how well or otherwise do you think the Ayrshire growth deal interacts with neighbouring growth deals? I am thinking about the Glasgow city region deal and its Clyde metro project, the mass transit issues and so on, as well as the Borderlands growth deal, South of Scotland Enterprise and the regional funding that they get. Have we been able to link in with some of that work in order to deliver a wee bit of additional benefit for Ayrshire?

How easy has having flexibility and adapting to change been not only for Ayrshire but for the other growth deals? Have you found that quite difficult? Murdo Fraser mentioned the spaceport project, which I presume went through the same rigorous business case processes, but has since been dropped. You have mentioned the subsea cable project, too. How easy or difficult is it for the growth deals to adapt to changing circumstances and perhaps to repurpose not just the funding but some of the concepts and the vision around projects that are no longer viable?

What about the transport infrastructure side of things, and the Clyde metro? Do you see any opportunities for us to improve our offer in Ayrshire to get our citizens who prefer to work in the Glasgow area to get there faster, quicker and smarter—with park and rides and all that stuff? Does that fit in the interface with the Clyde metro?