Question reference: S5W-00046
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 12 May 2016
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Current status: Answered by Humza Yousaf on 25 May 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the reported comment by Nicola Sturgeon in The Press and Journal on 6 April 2016 that "a re-elected SNP government will begin work immediately to look at how we can reduce fares for the northern isles and provide greater support to businesses and residents in Shetland and Orkney", what action it is taking to meet this commitment; on what date the new fares will be (a) announced and (b) introduced; whether each (i) service and (ii) ticket type will be subject to reduced fares; what the average annual saving will be for service users in (A) Orkney and (B) Shetland Islands, and what discussions it had had with (1) Serco NorthLink and (2) other stakeholders regarding the commitment.
Answer
In December 2015, Transport Scotland commissioned consultants to conduct a comprehensive study to inform the specification of the next Northern Isles ferry service contract, commencing in April 2018.
The study is being overseen by a working group of key stakeholders, including Orkney and Shetland Islands Councils, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, HITRANS and ZetTrans, and will report in late Summer 2016.
A wider consultation exercise with the public and other key stakeholders, including Serco Northlink, was conducted earlier this year, with a further round of consultation due in the coming months.
Fare levels are being considered as part of this study and decisions on future fare levels will be made in due course.
I have arranged to meet with the member to discuss this further.