A row has erupted over a failure to appoint a single islander to the parent body of Caledonian MacBrayne, the under-fire ferry company.
Islanders had pleaded with Graeme Dey, the transport minister, for representation from the communities that have suffered most from regular breakdowns, delayed new ferries and not being listened to over services.
Western Isles council has expressed its “disappointment” that Scottish ministers have completed the appointments to the David MacBrayne Group Board but “ignored the pleas” from councils and companies to address the “fundamental gap in user experience of those appointed to the board”.
“Not one single resident of an island served by David MacBrayne Group or its subsidiary CalMac Ferries Limited sits on the company board and this opportunity to right this wrong has been passed up by ministers,” the council said. The new chairman and non-executive directors had “no residential tie to the communities the company serves”.
At a meeting of the Hebrides Ferry Stakeholder Group, Uisdean Robertson, chairman of transportation and infrastructure, said: “It is little wonder that the management of the company are so detached from the reality of their decisions when they are based far away at a headquarters in Inverclyde and those appointed to hold the company to account have limited experience of how the company’s actions affect people from Lewis to Arran.”
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The council said it would continue to press for “real and meaningful change” to give communities a voice.
The Scottish government said: “All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.”
