Carmichael challenges ministers over allocation of fishing community fund

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today challenged the government to give a more proportionate share of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund to Scotland. The fund is being delivered based on proportions of the UK population, with 8% of the fund allocated to Scotland, despite the fact that over 60% of the fish landed in the UK comes through Scottish ports.

Speaking during an Urgent Question on the fund in the House of Commons, Mr Carmichael cited in particular the fact that over 9% of the value of UK landed fish comes through ports in Shetland, but the isles will only receive a fraction of the 8% of the fund given to Scotland.

The isles MP called on the government to review the formula used to deliver the funding. He also expressed concerns about the SNP Scottish Government delivering the scheme given their recent attempt to impose HPMAs on fishing communities.

Speaking in the House, Mr Carmichael said:

“I have to say that if ever there was an illustration of the scale of the challenge of ministers in turning around this department, this is it. Let’s not forget that this fund was created because the Prime Minister went and rolled over for 12 years the catastrophically bad deal that Boris Johnson gave us for five.

“If the minister is sincere when she says that the aim of the government is to maximise local investment then to use the Barnett formula to distribute this is ocean-going madness. By volume and by value, Shetland alone accounts for 9% of the fish landed in this country, but Scotland as a whole will only get 8%.

“So, when will this funding formula be reviewed, and when will we hear exactly where this money will be spend and what it will be made available for, wherever it is going to be?”

Responding for the government, the Fisheries Minister Angela Eagle MP said:

“Well, certainly for the devolved parts of the fund, he’ll have to ask the Scottish government what they are going to do with that. He may wish also to ask whether there’s any extra money from the devolved Comprehensive Spending Review process, which gave the Scottish government an extra £8.5 billion to spend this year.”

Reacting after the exchange, Mr Carmichael said:

“I have to say that I am pretty disappointed by the minister’s answer. She was not in post when this fund was designed but she has the opportunity now to improve matters. That surely has to start by making this fund more proportional to the central role that Scotland – and the Northern Isles in particular – plays in our fishing industry. I shall be returning to this matter with the minister in the coming weeks.

“I am also not especially reassured to be referred to the Scottish Government for the implementation of this fund. The SNP’s approach to the fishing industry in recent years has been somewhere between disinterest and utter hostility. What is needed is for local people to take the lead on how we deliver funding – and it is hard to see that coming from the SNP, which tried to impose top-down HPMAs on our communities just two years ago.”