Transport chiefs have rejected a call to compensate Uist residents for ferry cancellations.
MSP Alasdair Allan had the idea for compensation to help mitigate the effect of ferry closures on the Uist community.
In August, Na h-Eileanan an Iar MSP Alasdair Allan wrote to Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth. He stated his concern over the “serious and frequent disruption” to the Uist economy “brought about by technical faults and mechanical breakdowns” of ferries.
The “deteriorating resilience and reliability of the west coast’s ferry network” is causing “serious harm”, he said.
He asked the minister “whether any attempt has been made to measure the financial and economic losses to the Uist community from ferry disruptions in 2022”.
Mr Allan has made it clear that he wants financial compensation for islanders affected by the ferry fiasco.
But the idea was rejected by Transport Scotland’s Alistair Thomson, replying on Jenny Gilruth’s behalf.
He said there are “no plans” for such a scheme.
‘Lengthy delay’
Mr Thomson began with an apology for the “lengthy” delay in the reply being issued.
While Mr Thomson confirms that there has been “no specific analysis of the financial and economic impacts from ferry disruption on the Uist community,” he says that ” the Scottish Government recognises the impact these disruptions have on island life.”
But while the Scottish Government might not have uncovered concrete figures, the Uist community decided earlier this year to find out for themselves how much the ferry closures have cost local businesses.
Community landowners Stòras Uibhist commissioned a study after a two-week closure of the route between Lochboisdale and Mallaig in May.
There was a technical problem with the MV Lord of the Isles’ fire safety system. In his letter, Mr Allan noted that the MV Hebrides suffered a similar problem three times in the past year alone.
The study found evidence of around £648,000 in losses. The closure of the ferry route affected 91% of 395 surveyed businesses.
Compensation would ‘draw resources intended for ferry services’
Transport Scotland said that it would be “extremely challenging” to pay the businesses back.
Any such scheme, they say, “would ultimately draw resources otherwise intended for the operation of ferry services.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has spent over a hundred million pounds more than planned on the two unfinished ships at the heart of the ferries scandal.
MV Glenn Sannox and Hull 802 are still not ready to sail. This means that the “aging fleet” currently serving the Hebrides has no spare vessels.
Even as islanders heard that a compensation scheme was off the table, they were dealing with the latest affected ferry service.
Three separate faults were found on the MV Lord of the Isles in the past week.
‘Human costs’
And, as of Thursday, it is still unclear when the Lochboisdale to Mallaig sailing will be back on — and what the costs will be this time.
Mr Allan’s letter focused on the financial impact. But, he said, “the human costs will be more difficult to measure.”
“The longer island communities are made to wait for an appropriate and proportionate intervention, reflecting the gravity of the situation, the weaker our businesses grow and the less sustainable our communities become.”
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
- Highlands & Islands Enterprise hails ‘significant opportunities’ of the Hebrides’ first large cruise port
- ‘People are trusting you with their stories’: Behind the scenes with Al Jazeera filmmakers in the Outer Hebrides
- Finding a home in the Hebrides: The couple who came back to care for Uist’s animals
