Isles councillors meet with ferry inquiry

OIC Elected Members have this week (28 November) met with Scottish Parliament representatives looking into the future of ferry services in Scotland.

The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee – a cross-party committee chaired by Sir Edward Mountain MSP, a Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands – are carrying out an inquiry titled ‘A Modern and Sustainable Ferry Service for Scotland’.

The inquiry was launched following the receipt of a public petition  which said that the unreliability ferry services had resulted in losses to island economies relying on tourism and in travel restrictions for island residents, who need reliable and regular services.

The inquiry aims to seek out how best to secure a ferry service that is future-proofed, compatible with Scotland’s net zero goals and will meet the needs of all service users, having regard in particular to the long-term sustainability of island communities.

Island leaders took the opportunity whilst the inquiry was in Orkney to press the issue of future funding for Orkney’s ageing ferry fleet.

Council Leader James Stockan met with Sir Mountain, along with fellow isles councillors Heather Woodbridge and Melissa Thomson.

Following the meeting Councillor Stockan said: “Whilst this inquiry is not focused on the funding of ferry services – and instead on how future ferry services will look across Scotland – it did provide us with an excellent opportunity to highlight the issues of our ageing ferry fleet and press home the clear disparity in how ferry services are funded in Scotland.” 

Council Stockan is due to meet with Scottish Government Finance Minister John Swinney this week on the future funding of Orkney’s internal ferry service, including the replacement of the ageing fleet.

“Our current ferry fleet – whilst it has served us well for a number of years – is in dire need of replacement.  In particular they simply do not meet the needs of passengers with significant mobility issues rendering some services completely inaccessible for some passengers – a fact which the inquiry chair was horrified at. This is not acceptable given the lifeline nature of these services – for our islanders these services are their buses after all.   It is an issue that we would wish to resolve but with the existing vessels and infrastructure this is not currently possible

“The meeting with the inquiry has allowed us to seek support from the cross-party committee as we go back to the Scottish Government once again to put forward our strong case for being treated on an equal footing with those ferry services that are fully funded by the Scottish Government.”