Scottish Government
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Islands Transport Forum convened
First meeting to discuss future of transport links.
The first meeting of a new high level group established to consider strategic transport issues affecting Scotland’s island communities has been held (12/01/16), chaired by Minister for Transport and Islands Derek Mackay.
The Islands Transport Forum - which includes representatives from local authorities and regional transport partnerships – has been convened as part of the work outlined by the Empowering Scotland’s Island Communities prospectus.
The Forum’s remit covers transport to, from and within the islands, with the purpose of achieving:
- continuous improvement in air and ferry services to and from and within the Islands;
- the fairest and most efficient use of air and ferry resources, to the benefit of the Islands and Scottish Government;
- integrated transport services that are designed and commissioned with a view to ensuring sustainable economic growth and community development within the Islands.
Mr Mackay said:
“I was pleased to welcome colleagues from all our island authorities to the first meeting of the Forum. Effective and reliable transport links are essential for island communities and we had had constructive talks on the main issues, including a particular focus on air services.
“Future discussions will include our lifeline ferries services, the strategic issues around the provision of transport infrastructure for the islands and how best to engage with EU programmes which may benefit island transport.
“To ensure openness and transparency, we also agreed that the terms of reference, agendas and minutes of the bi-annual meetings will all be published in due course.”
