CalMac

[islaydarkblue]

Does this £128m mean the we mainlanders subsidised you island dwellers to the tune of £124 m ( £128m less the £4m profit.

Not sure I really support this level of subsidy. I think about 60000 people stay ion the island catered for by CalMac. that works out at a wee bit over £2000 per resident.

It is not just islanders. All the holidaymakers from all round the world are having their fares subsided by the Scottish taxpayers. This is why the ‘once size fits all’ Scottish Government flagship RET scheme is costing the Scottish taxpayers a lot of money.
Prior to the introduction of the RET scheme the Scottish Government handed over £37 million to Calmac to balance their books.
There are other costs involved.
The fares on the larger Calmac ferries could be lower if the crews did not receive full board and lodgings when they are working their two weeks on stint.
There are also too many staff employed at Calmac HQ in Gourock
I have heard people complaining about this for the past twenty years.
Last September (2021) a Calmac member of staff told me that there were 300 staff employed at the Calmac Head Office in Gourock with managers reporting to managers.
The Calmac staff are all Scottish Government civil servants as Calmac Ferries Limited is owned by the Scottish Government.