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The Herald Scotland
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish Government under fire over £4.4m ferry fund impact assessment
Crucially, only eight islands will be eligible. READ MORE: The IBRF offers grants of up to £35,000 to firms on South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Arran. To qualify under the criteria used by the [[Scottish Government]], islands had to have suffered more than 15% of service cancellations across three seasons — far above the 7% average across the CalMac network. However, islands where there has been a significant drop in capacity — with smaller vessels meaning fewer visitors — are not eligible. Businesses on Tiree, Iona and Mull have questioned the methodology and whether ministers have complied with legislation. Under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, public bodies have a duty to 'have regard to island communities' when exercising their functions. Part 3 of the Act states the government must carry out an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) when a policy is 'likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities)'. Last month, the government said an ICIA had been carried out and would be published by the end of the month. That deadline has now passed. Responding to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Herald for a copy of the assessment, the [[Scottish Government]] said it was unable to provide it as 'the document is currently pending completion and will be published in due course'. Joe Reade, chair of the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee, said he had also submitted an FOI request and had been told something different. The businessman has now written to Transport Secretary, Fiona Hyslop. Businesses in Tobermory on Mull cannot apply to the fund (Image: NQ) He told The Herald: "Was this support fund properly assessed under the terms of the Islands Act, or was it not? After seeing the answer The Herald has received, it is clear we have two different 'truths' coming from the Scottish Government. "In response to Mull and Iona Ferry Committee's FOI, we were told that an Island Communities Impact Assessment had been completed, and that it would be published soon. "We now read the response to a separate FOI that offers a different story — that the ICIA has not been completed, but is due to be completed soon. Both responses cannot be right. "What we do know is that the Business Resilience Fund is desperately needed by many island businesses across the Hebrides who are suffering the consequences of ferry mismanagement, but the majority of those islands, including Mull and Iona, are being denied access to it. "It is a divisive and arbitrary scheme that does not satisfy either the Islands Act, or common-sense fairness. "Despite consultation being the central pillar of an ICIA, none has been performed. We are now unsure if that lack of consultation indicates that the ICIA was incompetent or non-existent. "Either way, the Scottish Government are demonstrating not just how toothless and irrelevant their own Islands Act really is, but how ignorant and distant they are from the problems they have created." READ MORE: Scottish Lib Dem MSP for the West of Scotland, Jamie Greene said: "I think we need some honesty out of the Scottish Government. "A host of island communities like Mull and Iona missed out on funding and feel that they have been unfairly excluded, as have mainland communities who have seen their ferries, and its associated business disappear over the years. "When the government announced the list of islands that would be included, they should have published the impact assessment at the same time. "The current holding message will lead people to think it was never conducted at all and that they are being given the runaround." The Scottish Government has been approached for comment. Applications for the IBRF are managed by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), with the deadline set for midday on Sunday September 1. Decisions and payments are expected by Thursday October 31. The west coast ferry network has suffered years of disruption, with an ageing fleet and delays in the delivery of new vessels repeatedly affecting services.
The Herald Scotland
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Did the government forget to 'island-proof' the ferry fund?
The compensation pot, which opened for applications on Tuesday, offers grants of between £3,000 and £35,000 to firms on South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Arran. Mull, Iona, Coll, Tiree, Islay and others who've seen serious disruption get nothing. To qualify, the islands had to have suffered from over 15% ferry service cancellations across three seasons — far above the 7% CalMac network average. That's left businesses — and campaigners like Joe Reade from the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee — fuming. Although they don't reach the threshold set out by the government, he says his community is still experiencing a 22% cut in ferry capacity this summer. They've already lost around 7,000 passenger visits — a clear blow to a local economy reliant on tourism. But because these are classed as capacity cuts rather than cancellations, they're ignored by the fund's formula. As Reade puts it, it's 'astonishing and bemusing' that ministers have chosen such a narrow and 'arbitrary' way to measure hardship. It also, he believes, breaks the law. READ MORE FROM UNSPUN Passed with cross-party support, the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 was meant to ensure that the specific needs of Scotland's island communities were not just recognised, but respected in law. It places a clear duty on public bodies — including Scottish ministers — to 'have regard to island communities' when exercising their functions. In other words: island-proof your policy. Part 3 of the Act says the government must carry out an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) when a policy is 'likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).' The ferry support fund clearly triggers that requirement. It's a policy about islands, aimed specifically at businesses on islands, that offers money to some and excludes others. Reade says there's a wider issue here around the Islands Act. 'It is routinely ignored by governments at all levels, or just paid lip-service,' he tells me. Herald readers will be familiar with my colleague James McEnaney's reporting on the row over the new school on Mull. A petition for a Judicial Review has been lodged with the Court of Session in Edinburgh in an attempt to reverse Argyll and Bute Council's decision to build the school in Tobermory — a move that means kids from the south of Mull remain excluded from the only high school on their island. 'The ICIA the council were supposed to undertake was done far too late and without proper consultation,' Reade says. The Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), the central government funding scheme paying for the school, has also not been assessed against the Act. Technically, that's because it pre-dates the law — although it was announced a year after the Act passed. 'Scottish Government certainly had a moral obligation to 'island-proof' the LEIP programme,' Reade argues. 'But they did not.' There's scant information about the IBRF. The first many island businesses heard about it was when journalists got in touch for comment on the Scottish Government's press release. The Islands Act was supposed to be ground-breaking and promised meaningful change — but for many islanders, that promise remains unfulfilled.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Island businesses criticise ferry cancellation fund
Some island community leaders have criticised a new £4.4m Scottish government fund set up to support businesses affected by ferry Islands Business Resilience Fund (IBRF) will be available to eight of the 23 islands served by publicly-owned ferry operator Schmoller, of community company Stòras Uibhist on South Uist, said there was a lack of information on the funding, and she raised doubts it would go far businessman Joe Reade said his island was not on the approved list, but local businesses were suffering due to a reduced service. Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said the Scottish government was determined to do everything it could to support island communities. IBRF will be available to eligible business, including firms that rely on tourism or trade in perishable goods, operating on South Uist, Colonsay, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay and Scottish government said the islands were chosen because they had more than 15% of ferry cancellations over the last three summer Ms Schmoller told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We've had no direct information."The announcement was made yesterday, I gather, but we haven't actually seen any details beyond the fact it will be operated by Highlands and Islands Enterprise."She said a study Stòras Uibhist did last year suggested more than £1m was lost to South Uist's economy due to disrupted sailings over six weeks between Easter and Schmoller said she was not sure £4.4m would be enough to cover every eligible added: "There are other businesses that have lost out as well." Mr Reade said it was "bizarre" Mull was not on the list of said the island's ferry capacity had been reduced by 22% since March because the ferry, MV Isle of Mull, was out of Reade told Good Morning Scotland: "Every tourist related business on Mull is reporting a really bad season."Restaurants are not as full as they should be, tourist trips are not taking as many passengers, accommodation providers have got vacancies in the middle of the season, which is unprecedented."He added: "We can see to the end of June we've lost 7,000 passenger visits to the island."Mr Reade said Mull could be missing out because reduced service was not being used as a measure for IBRF said: "I am absolutely astonished and bemused that the government should use such a blunt way about deciding who gets assistance and who doesn't. "Everybody needs it." How will IBRF work? Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will manage IBRF on behalf of the Scottish government. Applications will be accepted from Wednesday until midday on 1 September with decisions and payments expected by 31 businesses include those that rely on tourism, and firms that manufacture or transport perishable goods, such as Scottish government said funding awards would be based on demand and the size of organisations that apply for said awards were expected to range from between £3,000 and £35, carried out analysis of information and statistics provided by Transport Scotland and CalMac relating to ferry Scottish government said the eight islands were chosen because each had more than 15% ferry disruption over the last three summer seasons. It said the average cancellations of ferry services across CalMac's network during that time had been about 7%. 'Challenging times' Islands Secretary Ms Gougeon said the Scottish government knew island communities faced "distinct" said: "People and businesses require ferry services running reliably and frequently to support their livelihoods."We worked with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to refine the eligibility criteria and identify how this money can make a real difference to the businesses who need it most."Ms Gougeon said reliable and regular ferry services were key to said: "We know that the current situation of delays and ongoing maintenance to some vessels has created real difficulties for some."We are determined to do everything we can to support islands, their local businesses and employers through these challenging times."
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
New £4.4m ferry disruption fund opens for eight islands
🧭 What is the Islands Business Resilience Fund (IBRF)? A £4.4 million Scottish Government fund aimed at supporting island businesses hardest hit by west-coast ferry disruption. Run by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Applications open July 2 and close midday September 1. Decisions and payments are expected by October 31. Grants range from £3,000 to £35,000 depending on business size and demand. ✅ Who's eligible? Businesses on these eight islands only: South Uist, North Uist, Eriskay, Benbecula, Berneray, Grimsay, Colonsay, and Arran. Must be in tourism-related sectors or the manufacture or transport of perishable goods (e.g. seafood). Islands were selected for having over 15% ferry service cancellations across three seasons — far above the 7% CalMac network average. 🚩 Why it's controversial Exclusion of other hard-hit islands The Mull & Iona Ferry Committee says Mull (and Iona), along with Coll, Tiree, Islay and others, have seen serious disruption — but are not included. Mull lost 22% capacity since March due to MV Isle of Mull being sidelined — though this isn't counted under the scheme's eligibility criteria. Questionable criteria Critics call the 'over 15% cancellations' rule arbitrary and exclusionary, saying it ignores capacity loss and ongoing maintenance issues. There's concern the fund doesn't align with the Islands (Scotland) Act, which aims to support all affected communities. Financial shortfall South Uist reports losses of £1 million over Easter–June 2024. Mull has lost around 7,000 passengers and 10% car traffic by June 2025 — figures campaigners argue outstrip the current £4.4m total. 🧑🎤 Voices from the islands 'Why exclude islands that are really suffering? It's not just bizarre and unfair on the face of it, it's actually, I think, contrary to the islands act, I don't think it's correct in law.'— Joe Reade, Chair of the Mull and Iona Ferry Committee. At least it's a gesture. It will benefit some people. It'll let them survive, because the hit has been really hard on people." —Mary Schmoller, member of the board of the South Uist community landowner, Stòras Uibhist 🛠️ What happens next? Applications open July 2, 2025, closing September 1, administered by HIE. Decisions and payouts expected by October 31. Campaigners are calling for: Wider eligibility that includes islands like Mull, Coll, Tiree, Islay. Revised criteria that account for capacity loss, not just cancellations. More detail on eligibility and payment formulas is expected soon.
