News / Tavish demands transport minister’s head
Shetland MSP Tavish Scott has called for Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson to resign after it emerged that a pilot scheme for cheaper ferry fares to the Western Isles is to be extended by a year.
The news came on Tuesday, the same day a brief consultation on service cuts and fare increases on the northern isles lifeline ferry service ended.
Mr Scott said Mr Stevenson’s decision was “outrageous” and it was time for him to consider his position.
“Stewart Stevenson should resign because a transport minister who cannot be fair in how he determines transport policy for Scottish islands is not worth having,” the Scottish LibDem leader said.
The Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) pilot scheme, introduced in October 2008, reduced ferry fares on the routes to the Western Isles by half. This scheme has now been extended to spring 2012.
Mr Stevenson said: “Extending this pilot scheme will bring further opportunities for the island communities and businesses to maximise the benefits of this scheme.
“The emerging evidence of increased traffic earlier this year is welcome, particularly in this challenging economic climate. We want to do all we can to protect and support our remote and fragile island communities.
“By continuing this scheme for a further year, we can continue to examine ways of delivering a longer term fairer, cheaper system for every ferry user.”
But Mr Scott, a former Scottish transport minister himself, said: “Shetland and Orkney are being asked to accept cuts to our services and potentially increases in our fares in a government exercise which was being consulted on until today, Tuesday.
“It is outrageous, given the timing, that the government would extend the electoral bribe to the western isles at the same time.
“There is no social economic assessment of the proposals to cut Shetland’s external ferry service while at the same time the justification for the extension of the RET pilot scheme is that Highlands and Islands Enterprise believe that it is important to further study the social-economic impact.”
The Shetland MSP and his Orkney counterpart Liam McArthur have scheduled a meeting with Mr Stevenson later in September to make the case why the northern isles could not cope with any cuts to their ferry service.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
