Since 2018-19, the Scottish Government has provided Orkney Islands Council with £87.7 million to support the operation of its internal ferry fleet. We also recognise the fleet replacement challenge that faces the council and, in that regard, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government and I met the council at the Orkney ferry replacement task force earlier this month. We were pleased to confirm the allocation of £3 million in additional funding to support the council’s electric ferry trial, design work for the northern isles ferry, and desktop-based work on the proposed port upgrades.