Question reference: S6W-04798
- Asked by: Jamie Greene, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 3 December 2021
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Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 16 December 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-04433 by Graeme Dey on 30 November 2021, whether it will provide the information requested regarding whether it has undertaken an assessment of introducing a specific scheme for island businesses that lose income as a result of ferry delays and cancellations, and for what reason it did not provide this information in its answer.
Answer
There are no plans for a compensation scheme to be offered to businesses due to travel disruption as a result of ferry delays and cancellations. Any such scheme would be extremely challenging and would ultimately draw resources otherwise intended for the operation of ferry services.
Scottish Ministers do fully recognise the importance of reliable ferry services to the economic, social and cultural development of island and remote mainland communities. We have committed to investing at least £580 million in ports and vessels over the next five years to improve resilience.
CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL), have operational responsibility to deliver the lifeline services and work throughout disruptions to find ways to continue the freight and passenger service to the communities. However, it is impossible to completely remove the risk of disruption due to either inclement weather or other reasons.
Transport Scotland continue to work with CalMac Ferries Ltd and engage with local stakeholders in order to ensure any disruption to services have minimum impact on communities, and assess all the options available to maximise available capacity across the CHFS network.