Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - Ferry Service (Campbeltown to Ayrshire)
3. Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the threat of closure of the Vestas factory at Campbeltown and local concerns about the delay in re-establishing the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service, whether it will support the establishment of a new ferry route between Campbeltown and mainland Ayrshire. (S3O-4114)
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change (Stewart Stevenson): Consultants who were commissioned by the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are currently undertaking a Scottish transport appraisal guidance appraisal of the proposed Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service. It is anticipated that the completed STAG appraisal will be delivered shortly. When the final report becomes available, ministers in Scotland and Northern Ireland will consider the costs and benefits that are associated with the proposed service and will reach a decision about the way forward.
We expect the STAG appraisal to consider all the possible service options and to include an analysis of the option of extending the service to Ayrshire. None of the earlier analyses considered that matter in any detail. The assessment of the Ayrshire leg is necessary if we are to consider whether such an extension of the service would add value to the proposed Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service.
Jamie McGrigor: Will the minister acknowledge that even without the loss of jobs at Vestas the Kintyre and Campbeltown economy is under severe pressure and desperately needs new investment? Will he also acknowledge that although we all want the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service to resume as soon as possible, a ferry service from Campbeltown to mainland Ayrshire would mean that businesses and potential new businesses in Campbeltown could get their goods to major new markets, which would be crucial? Will he ask his officials to consider the option seriously?
Stewart Stevenson: We place the highest value on ensuring that Kintyre has the economic opportunities that it requires. That is why we are considering the Campbeltown to Ballycastle route and why we included in that consideration the option of the extension of the service to Ayrshire. That is an entirely new proposal, which the Government has not considered before. We certainly take the prospect seriously, and I hope to have something more concrete to say on the matter in the not-too-distant future.
Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): Will Ardrossan, a port in my constituency that has excellent rail links, be considered as the Ayrshire port of first choice, should additional ferry services to Ireland or Kintyre be introduced?
Stewart Stevenson: Mr Gibson is right to represent his constituency's interests, as we all do in our contributions. Ardrossan will of course be considered. Until I have received and analysed the STAG report, I cannot make the commitment for which he asks, but Ardrossan will certainly be seriously considered.
Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): Does the minister recall that previous assessments of the viability of ferry routes to and from Campbeltown took into account the advantages of the Vestas manufacturing facility there and the prospects for passenger and commercial traffic that arose from that? What assessment has he made of the potential impact on the STAG assessment of routes of the closure of the Vestas factory? What indication has Vestas given of the importance of those routes to the decision-making process in which it is involved?
Stewart Stevenson: It is clear that events in Campbeltown will affect consideration of the STAG appraisal. If the Vestas factory is to close, that reinforces the case for our considering every opportunity that we can find to create an economic future for Campbeltown and the Mull of Kintyre. I assure the member that that is our priority.
John Scott (Ayr) (Con): When will the STAG report be published? Given what the First Minister said on the subject when he met Northern Ireland's First Minister, does the Government support in principle the extension of the route to Ayrshire?
Stewart Stevenson: John Scott is correct to refer to discussions between Northern Ireland's First Minister and Deputy First Minister and our First Minister and me some months ago. We must work with administrations on the other side of the channel. We must talk to local authorities, such as Moyle District Council in Northern Ireland, which is engaged in the issue. All the relevant parties are engaged. Serious consideration is also being given to a potential link between Campbeltown and Ayrshire.
