McArthur presses government on shortfall in funding for new ferries

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur today pressed the Scottish Government to go further in making up the shortfall in funding to allow the process of procuring new ferries to get underway.

During General Questions in parliament, Mr McArthur welcomed the increase in funding for ferry services in Orkney set out in the government’s draft budget last month, but made clear that it falls short of what is needed to allow Orkney Islands Council to proceed to procurement of new vessels.

In discussions with Ministers over the budget, Scottish Liberal Democrats have identified a number of priority areas where additional funding is needed, including for ferry replacement in Orkney. This follows on from the work undertaken by government and OIC as part of the Orkney Internal Ferry Replacement Task Force. The current draft budget includes £20m funding for connectivity in the Northern Isles, but more will be needed if OIC is to have the confidence to move ahead with procurement.

Speaking during General Questions, Mr McArthur asked:

“The additional funding in the draft budget for ferry services in Orkney is of course welcome, but it falls short of what will be needed to allow the procurement of new ferries in Orkney to be taken forward.

“So can I ask the Transport Secretary for an assurance that she will lend her support to efforts to make up that shortfall so that new ferries, desperately needed by my constituents, can indeed be procured?”

Responding to Mr McArthur, Ms Hyslop said:

“Clearly there are big challenges facing the council and I am very interested in lending my support where I can to ensure that Orkney council can progress the improvements that it does have to make to ensure that they have a resilient ferry fleet.”

Commenting afterwards, Mr McArthur said:

“The Transport Secretary is correct that Orkney Islands Council faces major challenges. New vessels are obviously long overdue on these lifeline routes. The continued use of ageing vessels that are increasingly costly to operate and unfit for purpose creates serious problems for local communities in terms of reliability and accessibility.

“In our discussions with Ministers over the budget, Scottish Liberal Democrats have consistently called for additional funding to allow new vessels to be procured. While the money allocated in the draft budget is welcome, as it stands it’s not enough to allow procurement to go ahead.

“The First Minister has confirmed that he is keen to continue discussions ahead of key votes on the budget. In that context, I welcome the Transport Secretary’s acknowledgment of the challenges faced by OIC in terms of local ferry service provision and her willingness to support efforts to resolve the remaining funding issues.”