Ferry money down the drain

Published on Thursday 8 March 2007 01:37

PUTTING Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services out to tender cost the Executive £15 million, as a result of the company restructuring and tax liabilities incurred. But as state-owned CalMac was the only bidder, this was money down the proverbial drain. The £15 million might sound tiny in government terms, but it is £3 wasted for every man, woman and child in Scotland.

To make matters worse, the Executive had no overriding need to go to tender. In theory, not tendering might have been in breach of EU competition law. But in practice, Brussels has always been loath to insist on compliance in remote communities, and any fine would probably have been less than the 15 million. In truth, Executive ministers were just spineless when it came to standing up for Scottish interests in the EU.

This episode raises once again the issue of why the Executive wants to own its own ferry service. There is a strong case for public subsidy to ensure that vital ferry services are maintained to the islands. But that is different from the state owning CalMac, which makes it impossible to create a level playing field for private ferry operators and so leads to monopoly and inefficiency.

The Executive must use this sorry affair to rethink its model of how to ensure affordable, reliable ferry services to our island communities.