OIC calls for level playing field for internal ferry services

The OIC is calling on the Scottish Government to continue with joint assessment and financial analysis to assist with the long-term needs of the county’s internal ferry services.

The call follows the Government’s insistence that discussions with OIC, about support for the services, will end if the council does not agree, in advance, to a number of principles — including matters associated with potential transfer of funding from the OIC to the Government.

The council has been in discussions with Transport Scotland about the financial arrangements for the support of internal ferry services, with a view to bringing these into line with the rest of Scotland, following the publication of the Scottish Ferries Plan last December.