Meeting of the Parliament 14 June 2023
I have just started to address the two aspects of the Government’s plan and to set out what we will do, in our gift, to address the issue. I am not at all shying away from the actions that the Government needs to take, and I am happy to narrate them now.
On the back of that meeting, I was very pleased that Mr Drummond visited South Uist and met residents. That followed a similar visit from the former transport minister in late May and a visit that the new transport minister made recently in her capacity as a committee member. Indeed, I expect to make similar visits over the summer.
As well as communication, CalMac management and I discussed the route prioritisation matrix that CalMac uses to assess options to maintain lifeline connections when there is disruption in the network. I asked CalMac to urgently consider that route prioritisation matrix to ensure that it is fit for purpose and capable of taking into account cumulative impacts on fragile island communities. I expect the outcome of that consideration in short order.
This morning, I was pleased to meet the ferries community board, which includes community representatives from our islands and is, in my view, utterly invaluable as a source of lived experience. I strongly believe that CalMac and the Scottish Government should listen carefully to what those people have to say—I certainly intend to do that.
That is the response that we are undertaking in the here and now, but the motion is about compensation.