Coastal communities forsaken again as SNP exclude them from ferry compensation

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for the Highlands and Islands Morven-May MacCallum has today pressed the SNP government as to why key coastal communities are being excluded from compensation for disrupted ferries.

Scottish Liberal Democrats have campaigned for the SNP government to extend their Island Business Resilience Fund to cover coastal communities affected by ongoing ferry disruption as coastal towns like Dunoon, Ardrossan and Mallaig are currently excluded from the fund. However, the First Minister has confirmed this morning that the scheme will not apply to locations on the mainland disrupted by the SNP's ferry chaos.

Morven-May MacCallum said: 

“Scottish Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for the government to fairly compensate the islands and coastal towns affected by the ferries fiasco. 

“It was that campaign which led to the government bringing forward the Island Business Resilience Scheme, but we were concerned to see gaps in its eligibility. 

“As it stands, towns like Dunoon and Mallaig won’t see a penny in compensation, despite delayed and cancelled ferries hitting their local economies hard.

“The First Minister hinted months ago that he was thinking of addressing these shortfalls, but today's announcement confirms that coastal communities have been forsaken."