Executive summary

  1. The Scottish Ministers set the policy context and strategic direction for ferry services in Scotland. This will be set out more fully in the Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP) which will replace the current Ferries Plan.  This Long Term Vessels and Ports Plan is the first element of the ICP, providing detail on the Scottish Government’s objectives for the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) and Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS) which the Scottish Government is directly responsible for.
  1. The network-wide objectives for vessel and port investment as set out in the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) published in February 2021 are to:
  • improve resilience,
  • improve reliability,
  • improve capacity,
  • improve accessibility,
  • increase standardisation, and
  • reduce emissions.
  1. Engagement with key stakeholders during the development of this draft Long Term Vessels and Ports Plan indicates that reliability and resilience are their key priorities for vessel and port investment.
  1. These objectives will primarily be realised by upgrading existing infrastructure and replacing the existing vessels with an efficient and sustainable modern ferry fleet.

We will reduce the average age of the fleet to around 15 years old by the end of the decade.

  1. Through work on the Islands Connectivity Plan, we will develop a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for our ferry services which will include consideration of better measures of actual passenger and user experience vs contractual performance measures. In addition to the proposed KPI on fleet age, further KPIs are likely to cover:
  • Network reliability
  • Service and/or vessel/port outages – frequency and duration
  • Network carryings
  • Age of the oldest vessel in the fleet and/or age of vessels at replacement
  • Rolling average number of vessels replaced
  • Capacity available and utilisation (passengers and vehicles)
  1. This draft Plan sets out the “baseline scenario” needed to sustain services and communities and the investment programme required to:
  • renew the fleet and upgrade ports in response to asset age and condition;
  • improve technical and weather reliability when investing in new vessels and port upgrades;
  • improve resilience through an expansion in the major vessel fleet and through increased interoperability of vessels and ports within the major and small vessel fleets.
  1. In addition to the baseline scenario there are a number of opportunities to enhance the networks during the life of this Long-Term Plan that have been highlighted for further consideration.
  1. The Scottish Government invests significantly in ferry services; however the vessel replacement programme since 2012 has not kept pace with need. This draft Plan therefore outlines the need for significant and sustained funding to achieve its delivery, in particular during the 2020s and into the 2030s.
  1. The second Strategic Transport Projects Review makes recommendations for ferry vessel renewal and replacement in addition to progressive decarbonisation and for investment in port infrastructure to support that. STPR2 represents the strategic case for investment by the Scottish Government.
  1. In the context of constrained public finances in the years ahead, we must ensure that investment achieves Value for Money, informed by the Scottish Government’s aims set out in the National Islands Plan and the National Transport Strategy. We will capture Value by taking a holistic view of the benefits and costs of the investment – it is recognised that there are a number of costs and benefits associated with ferry services that cannot be easily quantified or monetised such as integration, accessibility and social inclusion. The cost of that investment is offset in part through fares revenue, which need to be balanced with maintaining the principles of affordable and sustainable fares structures to support our island communities. This draft Plan for vessels and ports cannot therefore be considered or finalised in isolation from the other elements of the Islands Connectivity Plan, including renewed community needs assessments of services and a holistic review of future ferry fares options.
  1. Delivery against this plan will also require decisions to be taken as part of annual budget reviews going forward. The draft Plan therefore proposes an objective and transparent approach to “Investment Prioritisation” that would guide those difficult prioritisation decisions.
  1. This Long-Term Plan for Vessels and Ports will be finalised in 2023 as part of the overall work on the ICP. This will enable it to be shaped in light of the outcomes of the refreshed needs assessments that we intend to undertake in 2023 for each community served by CHFS and NIFS services. It will also enable this draft Plan to be reviewed following the outcomes of the current Parliamentary inquiries by the Public Audit Committee and the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee and by the outcomes of a number of impact assessments. The final version of the Plan will set out the strategic business case for a sustained forward investment programme, supporting decision-makers when evaluating individual project and programme funding proposals for both vessels and ports.