MSPs have voiced concern about what they called a “lack of transparency” regarding public cash given to the struggling BiFab yards.
Members of Holyrood’s Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee said “greater accountability and transparency” is needed when ministers invest cash in ailing firms in a bid to save them.
The committee is investigating what went wrong at BiFab – which has yards in Burntisland and Methil in Fife, as well as one on Lewis.
The firm entered into administration in December, two years after a deal in which Canadian firm DF Barnes acquired the business for just £4.
The Scottish Government, which became a minority shareholder in BiFab, went on to invest £37 million in it. Bosses at DF Barnes have told MSPs that at the time of the deal, ministers had understood the company would not be investing significant amounts of cash in BiFab.
In its report, the committee said that for reasons including financial viability and state aid rules, “neither DF Barnes nor the Scottish Government felt able to provide the finance required to secure the vital contracts BiFab needed to avoid administration”.
The report added: “The financial loss to the public purse of BiFab failing as a company demonstrates that greater accountability and transparency is needed.”
READ MORE: Scottish Government accused of lacking 'political will' to save BiFab
The MSPs said DF Barnes should have released its pre-acquisition plan for BiFab to them as part of their investigation.
The report said: “Almost £40m of public money has been spent on supporting BiFab since 2017 and when public money is involved, there must be transparency in decision-making.
“The committee strongly believes that DF Barnes should have released the pre-acquisition business plan to aid the committee’s scrutiny.”
The MSPs also asked the Scottish Government to clarify if it had a “strategic long-term plan for its investment in BiFab”.
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