As I said in my first answer, UK subsidy control rules significantly restrict any support that the Scottish Government could provide. However, I and my officials in Transport Scotland continue to engage with prospective operators. The Scottish National Investment Bank could be another route to supporting new services, and VisitScotland has well-established marketing opportunities to attract more tourism to Scotland. We have spoken with the Scottish National Investment Bank and VisitScotland about the potential opportunities, which we have flagged with potential operators.

I reiterate that there is a political will to support a commercially viable service but, with significant budget pressures, we have to be cognisant of the subsidy issues and the prospect of potential legal action if additional funding was provided, which makes it more important that any solution is led by the commercial ferry sector.