McArthur pushes ministers on need for shared cabin policy on Northern Isles ferries
Orkney’s MSP, Liam McArthur has again pushed the Scottish Government to reintroduce the ‘shared cabin’ policy as a condition of the upcoming Northern Isles Ferries contract.
Mr McArthur raised the issue with the Connectivity Minister, Jim Fairlie today during General Questions in the Scottish Parliament, highlighting that islanders using the lifeline service on the Aberdeen route are often forced to pay the full price of a cabin for a single berth, or face sleeping in chairs or on the floor.
In response, the Minister suggested that there were no plans at present to reintroduce shared cabins, pending the outcome of the ongoing consultation. He went on to insist that the initial decision to remove the option was made by the operator on the basis of a ‘health and safety’ concerns.
Commenting after the exchange Mr McArthur said:
“I was surprised to hear the Minister claim that the ‘shared cabin’ policy was removed because of health and safety concerns. Prior to the covid pandemic, I’m aware of no such concerns being raised about a policy that worked well for many years, allowing islanders to get a good night’s sleep while keeping costs down.
“It is also disappointing that successive Transport Ministers have failed to address the significant loss in value of vouchers under the government’s concessionary scheme, with islanders now having to use two vouchers to pay for a berth rather than one.
“While some islanders have put in place informal arrangements to get round the ban on ‘shared cabins’, Scottish Ministers must now ensure that a policy that has worked fine in the past can be reintroduced under the forthcoming NIFS contract. It is wholly unacceptable to continue overcharging islanders to get a good night’s sleep on what is a lifeline service.
“Despite the Minister’s unhelpful response, I will continue to press this case and would encourage constituents to respond to the government’s consultation before it closes on 13 October.”