Whether it assisted in any way with the tender made by Caledonian MacBrayne, in conjunction with a private partner, for the Northern Isles …

The Scottish Executive did not assist Northlink, the joint venture involving Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd and the Royal Bank of Scotland, in the preparation of the tender submitted for the Northern Isles ferry contract. The limited costs incurred by Caledonian MacBrayne in bid preparation and in the start-up of the joint venture will be repaid from the return which Northlink is expected to earn for the company.Scottish Executive officials had a number of meetings and other contacts with Northlink representatives and its professional advisers, in order to provide advice to Scottish Ministers in their capacity as sole shareholder of Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd. Such contacts were necessary to enable Ministers to determine whether they were content for the company to submit a joint venture bid and to provide them with the information necessary to satisfy themselves that the terms of the bid would not involve any competitive advantage to the joint venture arising from Ministers' ownership of Caledonian MacBrayne. A separation of duties was in place between officials engaged in that process and those considering the tenders submitted for the Northern Isles contract. That confidentiality arrangement will remain in place until such times as contractual negotiations are completed and a contract is awarded.