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Petition PE1872: Improve the Reliability of Island Ferry Services

Letter from the Convener to the Minister for Transport, 16 December 2021

Dear Minister,

The Committee had its first consideration of petition 1872 at our meeting on 30 November.

The petitioner discusses the impact that disruption of ferry services has had on fragile island communities. Writing in May 2021, she states:

“Unreliable ferry services are causing huge losses to island economies. After a very difficult 18 months with no tourists, holidaymakers who had booked for this year are now cancelling as Calmac regularly cancel their ferry bookings.

“In Uist, we are suffering tremendously and constantly refunding people's bookings. As a very small island we do not have a choice of employment and we need the tourists back.

“Islanders have been told by Calmac that they will not be allowed on ferries to the mainland until 8th June. The Uist ferry, Lord of the Isles, is consistently deployed to cover other ferries which have broken down, leaving us without a reliable service. Many islanders cannot afford to fly.

“People want to come here on holiday, but this situation is putting them off. We stuck rigidly to the covid rules and thought there would be light at the end of the tunnel, but the current situation is disastrous.”

Some of the factors that led to the situation the petitioner describes were discussed at length in the then Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s report earlier this year on the construction and procurement of ferry vessels in Scotland. That has resulted in periodic updates being provided to this Committee, as successor Committee, by Ferguson Marine Ltd and, on occasion, by you in your ministerial capacity. We note also that Audit Scotland intend to report specifically on the delayed project to build the vessels currently known as hulls 801 and 802, and look forward to considering that report in due course. 

However, as is evident from the quote above, the petition raised issues that go wider than the issue of any deficiencies in ferry procurement. It instead highlights the very real impact that disruption of these lifeline services has on island communities. When the Committee considered the petition, we agreed that it is important to find out what steps are being taken now, whatever conclusions on hulls 801 and 802 Audit Scotland may reach next year.

We therefore agreed that we would write to you for an update on: 
 
1. Whether there has been an assessment of the impact the disruption has had on island economies and on islanders’ access to health and social care;
2. What discussions you have had with Calmac or others about lessons learned from disruption to services in recent months and how the service can be improved;
3. What plans and contingencies does the Scottish Government have in place (whether or not in partnership with Calmac) to prevent or mitigate a repeat of this disruption in 2022, with particular reference to the holiday season and the increased demands on services that that brings;
4. Whether the Scottish Government has considered how access to ferry services can be widened, particularly in the case of younger people, people who have disabilities that may make using the service difficult, and those on lower incomes. 

We also agreed to write to Calmac in similar terms. Once both responses have been received, we will consider what further action to take on the petition, including whether to take evidence at a Committee meeting.

The Committee would welcome a response before January 21st.

Yours sincerely,

Dean Lockhart MSP
Convener
Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee