 The next item of business is a statement by Kate Forbes on Presswick Airport. The Cabinet Secretary will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Kate Forbes up to 10 minutes, Cabinet Secretary. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would like to make a statement on the conclusion of the most recent sales process for Glasgow Presswick Airport and our ambitions for the business going forward. Parliament was updated on the decision to retain the business and public ownership on 21 December last year, but I am aware that it remains a topic of interest, so I wish to provide as much information as I am able to. I must say at the outset that we have been clear since acquisition of the business that it does remain our intention to return it to the private sector at the appropriate time. That position has not changed nor has our commitment to securing a long-term future for the business, which would have ceased to operate in 2013 without intervention. In recognition of the legitimate interest in the future of the business, I will provide a timeline of the most recent sales process. We received incredible expression of interest in acquisition of the business in November 2020. Any commercial process like that benefits from competition, and so, following receipt of the expression of interest, we invited further bids on the open market. We were encouraged that the process attracted three potential bidders who met our eligibility criteria. In summary, our eligibility criteria were that the business should continue as an operational airport, that bidders should develop and maximise the economic benefits and employment potential associated with the business, and that bidders should demonstrate strong financial capability and the ability to achieve their proposed plans for Glasgow Presswick Airport. One of the three potential bidders withdrew at an early stage, and two bids were subsequently received and evaluated with input from independent legal and commercial advisers and support from the management team at the business. A preferred bidder was identified in February 2021, and more detailed negotiations commenced. Commercial confidentiality prevents me from naming those bidders, or disclosing the detail of their bids, that is entirely standard practice in a process like that, regardless of whether the party is involved or in the public or the private sector. I know, and I hope, certainly that members will understand that important point. Nor would it be desirable for me to publicly discuss the detail that might prejudice any future negotiation. However, I can say that much of the media speculation in recent weeks has been wholly inaccurate. The commercial negotiation with the preferred bidder was constructive, with both sides committing significant energy and resource to the process of diligence and commercial negotiation. However, in May 2021, the preferred bidder withdrew from the process. For reasons already outlined, I will not get into the detail of the underlying rationale for that decision, save to record that there was mutual agreement that that was the appropriate outcome. That enabled us to re-engage with the second-placed bidder. A revised bid was submitted on 30 June 2021, and given detailed consideration. Following detailed analysis over several months, various concerns were identified. Following a clear recommendation from the board informed by independent advice, I determined that the bid should not be pursued further. You will appreciate that those decisions were not taken lightly. However, I wish to be clear that ministers have a long-term commitment to the business. We wish to secure a sustainable future for it, which recognises not just the commercial value in the business itself, but the wider contribution that it makes to the local and the regional economies that it serves. We want to return the business to the private sector. That must be on the right terms and in the right circumstances. We remain open to any future credible expressions of interest. We are a willing seller, but we are not a distressed seller. To the future, the business is performing well. It continues to steadily strengthen its position as a niche airport with a reputation for being innovative and flexible in meeting customers' needs. Significant process has been made in winning a bigger share of the fixed-base operations market. Property around the campus has high occupancy rates. It supports a range of important tenants, including maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, and search and rescue. As set out in the business's most recent accounts, a modest profit was achieved in 2020-21. The success of COP26 has been a particular highlight that showed once again that the business can handle traffic for global events. The entire Prestwick team is to be commended. It rose to the challenge of COP26 and delivered for its customers further enhancing the reputation of the business globally. Members will recall that both the former chair of Prestwick, Mr Andrew Miller and the former chief executive, Mr Stuart Adams, postponed their planned retirement dates to support completion of the most recent sale process. The sale process, having now concluded, both have now retired, but I want to put on record my sincere thanks to both of them for their significant contributions to the business in recent years. I would also like to welcome the newly appointed chair and newly appointed chief executive. Their role is to now build on recent success and drive the business forward so that profitability can be sustained and Glasgow Prestwick Airport can continue to make an important contribution to Scotland's economy. I look forward to supporting it in that task. As with all parts of the aviation industry, Prestwick faces challenges. Recovery from the pandemic will not be easy, but I am confident that the business is in a much better shape than when the Scottish Government bought it eight years ago. We said then that there were no quick fixes and we stand by our long-term commitment. It is in the public interest to see Prestwick succeed. It is in the interests of the staff who work there and other businesses that rely on it to see it succeed. Politicians from all parties have championed Prestwick over the years, and I hope that that support will continue as the business grows in line with the ambitions that we have for it. The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues that are raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions, after which we will move on to the next item of business. I would be grateful if members who wish to ask a question were to press their request to speak buttons now. I call Graham Simpson. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. I firmly believe that Prestwick can be a success, and we all hope for that. The Scottish Government bought Prestwick airport for a pound in 2013. Nicola Sturgeon said that the aim was, quote, turning Prestwick around and making it a viable enterprise. Why, more than eight years on, has that not happened? What is it that the Scottish Government is looking for from Abaya? What are the various concerns that the cabinet secretary referred to from the latest bid? I am not asking for figures here, I am not asking her to betray confidence. The latest accounts show an operating profit of £0.5 million. That is way down on the previous year. Freight held up, but passenger numbers plummeted, and it may be a while before they recover. I am just wondering if the cabinet secretary can tell us what does the operating profit need to get to in order for the airport to be put back on sale. The latest doomed bid, and it was from Train Alliance UK—the cabinet secretary does not want to say that—was scuppered when it emerged that major repairs are required to the runway. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that the figure for those repairs was around £20 million, and can she say why the preferred bidders were not told about it and why they were kept in the dark? If I am right on that figure, whatever the figure is, is the Scottish Government going to pay for those repairs before the airport is put back on sale? There are quite a lot of questions in there, so, hopefully, you will allow me to go into some of the detail. In terms of the starting position that the member set out that he wants Presswick to be a success, as I do, he asked a question in terms of the viable enterprise for where profit needed to get to. I would suggest that that is not one of our criteria in terms of looking for bids. We, as I said already, are a willing seller, so, as it were, we will work with any expressions of interest, whether they emerge today, tomorrow or next year. We will work with any expressions of interest. In terms of the financials, the financials are strong, so he will have looked at the annual report and accounts published on 21 December, where he cited the operating profit for exceptional items as being £500,000. The total profit after tax for the year was £12.8 million, which includes technical accounting for non-cash revaluation of assets. Overall, that was in a year in which every part of the aviation industry really struggled, really was facing huge challenges—he talks about passenger numbers—and that was not unique to Presswick, but what Presswick had been able to do under expert management and the help of the chair and the board is to develop a niche market. I would caution at saying that it is not about the accounts, which I think are showing that this is a successful business that has great opportunity. In terms of the bids, I would again caution by saying that he is citing some of the media speculation. I have already said that much of it has been wholly inaccurate. We will obviously continue to respect commercial confidentiality in terms of the specific bidders, but he talked about the condition of the runway. The reasons for any bidder ending their involvement in the post is a matter for them, but again I say that a lot of the reporting has been inaccurate. The runway and all other infrastructure at Presswick is maintained and is operated in accordance with regulatory requirements. An area next to the runway was the subject of discussion last year in terms of some damage by a jet blast of a departing aircraft. It has been repaired, so the runway was not damaged in the process. I hope that that has given a comprehensive answer to two very comprehensive questions. Thank you to the cabinet secretary's advance sight of her statement. It is 10 years since Presswick was bought by the Government, claiming that the plan was to return it to the private sector. A decade on, we still do not have any clear explanation from the cabinet secretary why every single appointment by the Government of preferred bidders of their choice always ends in the same outcome, which is no sale. We still do not know how close we were this time to an actual sale. The cabinet secretary tells us that, apart from the latest bids that she has explained were rejected in the timescale, they were rejected. How many other bids have been received by the Government since it took ownership in the last 10 years and when were they rejected? The cabinet secretary says that the finances of Presswick are strong, but there is still no repayment plan for the millions of pounds of Government loans. We know that there is a need for significant investment in Presswick airport, so can the cabinet secretary tell us, given the fact that we are no further forward when it comes to a new owner, where will that investment come from? Where, cabinet secretary, is the Government plan for the running of Presswick airport to deliver that sustainable future that she talked about and securing the jobs that the Ayrshire economy desperately needs? I do think that those latest accounts should not be dismissed, because this is a credible business with a credible plan that is proving its success and will continue to be successful. We will continue to work with the board in particular to develop its strategy for the future of the airport. Last week, if I remember my diary correctly, I met a new chair who has been appointed with considerable expertise and vision for Presswick airport. We have a refreshed operating board who will work with it. He asks specifically about opportunities to make investment. He will focus on the development of new revenue opportunities and building on the strengths. We will continue to engage with the board in terms of how we support that work. On the overall bids, I emphasise again that the three bids that we received were credible bids. There are reasons why each bid did not come to fruition. Again, those are complex reasons, and many of them have not been covered in any of the public media speculation. On the bids, I think that I went through the timeline for the most recent bids, which I hope helps in that answer. Can the cabinet secretary expand on the ways in which the eligibility criteria for bidders ensures that the local community in Esha benefit from the sale of Presswick airport? The criteria made clear that the long-term continuation of Presswick as an airport and a key Scottish infrastructure asset were essential. We also required a commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to Presswick, including, for example, aviation, logistics, infrastructure, real estate and other services. Bidders were asked to demonstrate their capability and commitment to developing and maximising the economic benefits. That is key for the local area and the employment potential associated with the business. That is why we had originally bought Presswick, and that is why we want to ensure that it goes to the right bidder. The preferred bidder was due to the initial bid because of the admission from the Presswick airport sales prospectus of the state of their own way. A recent admission of their bid, taking that initial omitted information into account, was so frustrated at the lack of any response from the Scottish Government that it felt that it had no option available to it to approach me and ask me to personally give a hard copy of their bid to the Scottish Government, which I did to Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson, who said that he would pass it on to Kate Forbes. If the cabinet secretary thinks that this is the way to work with a business and prefer bidder, does he think that that kind of amateurish approach will encourage any potential future bidder? In terms of the way that we have approached this, we have engaged with all three bidders. I am happy to pick up with the member after this conversation, in terms of his direct experience, but I am not sure that the dates that he cites are strictly accurate in terms of when I assumed responsibility for Presswick and the times at which certain bidders pulled out. The leader of North Ayrshire Council's Tory group, Councillor Tom Marshall, has called for Presswick airport to be closed. Can the cabinet secretary advise what the impact on the aerospace industry, Ayrshire economy, local employment and local community would be if this profitable airport was closed down? Is that clear understanding of the economic impact of closure that caused us to intervene in the first place in 2013? We were very clear that closure would have a significant impact on the local economy, not just because of jobs lost in the airport but because of various other businesses that rely on the airport being operational. Those include MRO facilities that provide highly skilled engineering jobs. Presswick has always enjoyed cross-party support locally. I think that we have heard again today that it enjoys cross-party support and I hope that we can get behind ensuring that not only does it get returned to the private sector, it gets returned to the right bidder and it continues to grow in terms of its success. The SNP Government's commitment to fair work is questionable at best, but that a job advert released last year at Scottish Government-owned Presswick airport was advertised as paying less than the real living wage is simply shocking. Can the cabinet secretary tell us why, after almost a decade of ownership, does Government-owned Presswick airport still not pay the real living wage and give its employees, many of whom are within my own south of Scotland constituency, the proper wage that they deserve? All employers to pay at least the real living wage and to adopt fair work principles. That expectation has not changed and we are actively engaged in working with all employers, public and private sector employers, to ensure that they meet the standards in our fair work first policy. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the Scottish Government's recent support of a £4.8 million research and development infrastructure grant towards the development of the new Aerospace Innovation Centre at Spirit Air Systems in my constituencies to be welcomed, along with the Scottish Government's investment in the Ayrshire growth deal, both of which recognise the strategic importance of the Aerospace Design Innovation Manufacturing Repair businesses and the potential for the spaceport Ambitons? Does the cabinet secretary agree that this is all contingent on the continued operation of Presswick airport? I absolutely agree with Eleanor Whitham on all those points. The First Minister, as she will know, was delighted to open the new Aerospace Innovation Centre last September, enhancing the excellent capabilities within Spirit Aerosystems and will support greater innovation more broadly across the Aerospace cluster at Presswick. That is one of the obvious immense opportunities and why we are working with the board to ensure that Presswick gets those opportunities locally. I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of his statement and for outlining what has happened with the various potential buyers over the last couple of years. We all know that air travel is a small but significant contributor to climate emissions with emissions rising steadily prior to the pandemic. Can I ask the cabinet secretary whether she will include in discussions with future buyers of Presswick airport additional eligibility criteria that speak to being a climate resilient airport, supporting and developing innovative low-carbon air travel technologies and their associated jobs, and reducing not just offsetting emissions that result from flights coming through the airport? The member will know about the Scottish Government's commitments back by Parliament to be net zero by 2045. That means that all parts of Scotland every sector has a role to play. As a publicly owned airport, that would include Presswick. It certainly is part of our strategic approach to returning Presswick to the private sector. I am sure that that will feature in future discussions. Willie Rennie to be followed by Rona Mackay. The SNP Green Government supports the expansion of Heathrow airport with a third runway with an extra 75,000 extra flights for Scotland. Part of the contract between the Scottish Government and Heathrow airport included the examination of the possibility that Presswick could be included in the supply chain. How much of the future of Presswick airport is dependent on the expansion of Heathrow airport? The opportunities for Presswick airport are much bigger and far greater than the relationship with Heathrow. I already cited in my opening statement some of the opportunities for Presswick. They have diversified considerably their operations, they have a stronger business model and they are continuing to adapt to changing circumstances. We are supportive of the business and we hope that, under the new refreshed leadership, the chair, the board and the chief executive continue to develop that strategy for growth. Rona Mackay to be followed by Edward Mountain. Ms Mackay, I believe that you may be on mute. Would you like to check, please? Would you like to begin again? We are having difficulty at the moment hearing you in the chamber, Ms Mackay, so we will work behind the scenes and hopefully return to you. In the meantime, I call Edward Mountain. Mr Mountain, it seems that we are having a difficulty hearing members joining us remotely in the chamber. We will try to come back to you, so just bear with us just now. I will move on to John Mason. The cabinet secretary said a bit about the previous bidding process and I just wonder if she can say something about the future. As I understood it, she said that there was an expression of interest followed by an opening out to bids, so is that broadly how she would see it in the future, that somebody would wait for an expression of interest and then would look for more bids? We will carefully consider any proposal from credible investors with a positive vision and plan for Prestwick until then, obviously, it will continue in government ownership. We have not set any timeframe for a disposal of the business and we are not actively marketing it at this stage immediately after the last expressions of interest. As I said in my opening remarks, we are a willing seller but we would only do so when the circumstances were right. We are open to credible expressions of interest. My sincere apologies to those members who were joining us remotely that we have been unable to connect with. We will continue to look into the matter at this moment. We are going to move on to the next item of business. There will be a short pause as we do so.