Short Life Working Group on Economic and Social Opportunities for Gaelic report: SG response

Transport

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining and improving ferry services that play a key role in supporting the economic, social and cultural development of island, peninsula and mainland communities. The National Transport Strategy’s Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) is setting out how ferry services, supported by other transport modes, will be delivered, and strengthened, working towards a long-term vision.

The ICP draft Strategic Approach and the updated Vessels and Ports Plan were published for public consultation, accompanied by community engagement, from 1 February to 6 May 2024. The Strategic Approach sets out a vision that Scotland’s ferry services, supported by other transport services including aviation and fixed links, will be safe, reliable, affordable and inclusive for residents, businesses and visitors enabling transport connectivity, sustainability and growth of island and peninsula communities and populations. The vision is supported by four priorities – reliable & resilient, accessible, integrated and low carbon.

The updated Vessels and Ports Plan provides a long-term plan, to 2045, for the vessel and port investment considered necessary to address the key challenges of reliability and resilience on the the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services, as well as the Northern Isles Ferry Services, which the Scottish Government is directly responsible for. This will primarily be achieved by upgrading existing infrastructure and replacing the existing vessels with an efficient and sustainable modern ferry fleet.

The outcome of the public consultation and community engagement on both papers were published in August 2024 and can be accessed here. The updated final Strategic Approach and Vessels and Ports Plan is to be published in 2024.