Order!

Our only item of business today is a debate on motion SM190, in the name of the Scottish Green Party. The question is whether the Parliament approves the Hebrides, Clyde, and Northern Isles Ferry Services Motion.

Hebrides, Clyde, and Northern Isles Ferry Services Motion

That the Pàrlamaid:

recognises that—

(a) ferries across Scotland are nearing the end of lives, especially in the Hebrides, Clyde, and the Northern Isles;

(b) the current structure of ferry companies is overly bureaucratic and complex, creating a disconnect in the Hebrides and Clyde especially between the operator of ferries, CalMac Ferries Ltd. (CFL), and the owner of the ferries themselves, as well as other infrastructure, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. (CMAL);

(c) this structure of having was created in response to European Commission state aid for maritime transport rules, which no longer apply to Scotland since the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union;

(d) after this withdrawal, there is precedent for creating state owned enterprises that would have violated these state aid rules, specifically with British Rail;

(e) CFL’s £975 million contract for Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) expires in September of this year;

(f) Serco NorthLink Ferries’ (SNLF) contract for Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS) expires in June 2026;

therefore, urges the Scottish Government to—

(g) re-establish Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd., abolished in 2006, as a limited company owned by the executive non-departmental public body David MacBrayne, through merging CFL and CMAL;

(h) not extend the NIFS contract by an extra two years;

(i) use this new company to take over the CHFS and NIFS contracts when the contracts with CFL and SNLF, respectively, expire;

(j) continue with the plan for Road Equivalent Tariff, as set out in the Scottish Ferry Services: Ferries Plan document, and expand it from only routes to the Outer Hebrides, Coll, and Tiree; to all routes in the CHFS and NIFS networks, however limit it to only residents of islands and bordering mainland areas; and

(k) instruct CMAL/Caledonian MacBrayne to procure two new ferries for the Outer Hebrides, specifically the Uig to Lochmaddy/Tarbert route to replace MV Hebrides, and to procure two more ferries for Islay, on the Kennacraig to Port Askaig/Port Ellen route.

This motion was written by the Most Honourable Lady /u/model-avtron, Marchioness Hebrides LT CT PC MSP, Member for na h-Eileanan an Iar, Leader of the Scottish Green Party and the Opposition, on behalf of the Scottish Green Party.

Opening Speech

Oifigear-riaghlaidh,

As an MSP for an island community, I have seen first hand the impact, both good and bad, that bureaucratic decisions can have in relation to ferries. CalMac and NorthLink are woven into island life, but recent problems have turned island pride to island embarrassment.

To put the situation in the words of Barrach maritime trade unionist Michael A MacLeod, writing for the Republican Socialist Platform’s Heckle:

It used to be a source of pride to say I worked for Caledonian MacBrayne, an integral part of Hebridean life,

He moves on to say:

Every vessel within CalMac is doing more work than they did a decade ago. Sailings have increased to accommodate increased demand, but this has the effect of cutting the time it is possible to carry out maintenance on vessels.

Successive Scottish Governments — in every colour of the rainbow — have either ignored the issue, or made it worse. Whilst I acknowledge that our predecessor party, the SNP, has made strides, especially with our Essential Ferry Services Act, we are also responsible for at least a portion of the situation: Alex Salmond’s Government’s push for Road Equivalent Tariff was, in equal parts, noble and damaging: it made ferry services significantly cheaper for Islanders, but also brought masses of tourists to the isles, which put strain on local infrastructure.

This motion, I hope, will send a message to the Scottish Government of today: that islanders deserve better, and a ferry service that isn’t bogged down by bureaucratic structures. That islanders want cheaper travel, but not an influx of tourists. That islanders need new ferries to replace ones that are two and a half decades old.

I move the Motion in my name; thank you.

Debate on this motion will end with the close of business at 10pm GMT on the 30th of December.