The ICP replaces the Ferries Plan 2013-2022. It will be wider in scope, taking account of ferry services, aviation, fixed links, and onward and connecting travel.

Having campaigned for over two years on the issue, I am particularly pleased that detailed consideration is to be given to the provision of free foot passenger travel in inter-island ferries for under 22-year-old island residents in Orkney, as well as Shetland and the Outer Hebrides. The plan will also look at extending the existing National Ferry Concessionary Scheme to under-22-year-old island residents.

With free bus travel for under-22s having been such a success across the country, it is only right that this is extended to ferries. Ferries are no less an essential mode of public transport than busses in island areas. I hope that we will see this finally recognised and put into place at the earliest opportunity so that young folk in Orkney can reap the benefits of being able to move around in their own community, as well as within Scotland as a whole.

Of course, ferries themselves have been a focus of debate in recent times, and although Orkney Islands Council remains responsible for operating its internal ferry services, the plan sets out how the council is encouraged to adopt the agreed vision and priorities set out in the ICP as an example of the standard we all desire for ferry services across Scotland. The vision is broadly for Scotland’s ferry services, supported by other transport services, to be safe, reliable, affordable, and inclusive for residents, businesses and visitors, and enabling transport connectivity, sustainability and growth of island communities and populations.

Over £178 million of Scottish Government funding has been provided between 2018/19 and 2023/24 to Orkney and other council areas with responsibility for ferries, supporting the running of these services.

That is now being built on by the Orkney and Shetland Internal Ferry Replacement Task Forces, where the Scottish Government has agreed to fund the cost of the business cases for these replacement programmes.

And with plans for fleet and port enhancements for the Northern Isles Ferry Service – the two freight vessels are proposed to be replaced between 2028 and 2031, and the three passenger vessels between 2031 and 2036 – there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss the shape of ferry service that will serve Orkney well into the future, and also to consider the role that fixed links may play. I would urge everyone with an interest – and that will be most residents – to have their say on these important issues.

This is a regular column by SNP MSP Emma Roddick. All Highlands and Islands Regional MSPs have been offered the same space in The Orkney News to share their own personal views.

The Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) replaces the Ferries Plan but is wider in scope, taking account of ferry services, aviation and fixed links, as well as onward and connecting travel. It is being developed within the context of the National Transport Strategy and the National Islands Plan and is being informed by the outcomes of the Strategic Transport Projects Review. Consultation and engagement are central to its development.

Consultation

Click on this link to access copies of the documents and also the consultation.

The responses received to this consultation will inform the Islands Connectivity Plan including the final versions of these two documents.

This consultation closes on 3 May 2024.