A Scottish Labour MP has blasted his own government for taking months to reply to him about a ferry route between Scotland and Europe. Graeme Downie said it was “disappointing” that the UK Treasury had taken so long to reply to his letter about a Rosyth-Dunkirk ferry.
The Dunfermline and Dollar MP had written to the Chancellor about the issue at the start of the October, but only received a reply shortly before his adjournment debate on Tuesday. He said he “suspected” the debate was the reason for the reply.
Downie said DFDS Ferries would like to run the service between Fife and Europe from Spring next year. But £3m is required to redevelop the facilities at Rosyth. The MP called for money from the UK Government’s £5.8m national wealth fund to be put towards it.
There was a direct ferry link between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium between 2002 and 2018. The passenger service was shut down in 2010. Freight services were ended in 2018 by DFDS after a fire on board one of its ships.
Downie told the House of Commons in a debate: “Between 2002 and 2018, there was a direct ferry line from Rosyth to Zeebrugge operating as a passenger and freight service, and latterly as a freight-only service. I believe, as many of my constituents do, that now is the time to bring this project back. To that end, I have held several discussions with those co-ordinating these efforts, as well as with DFDS Ferries, which has said that it would like to bring the service back as soon as spring 2025, but between Rosyth and Dunkirk instead.”
He continued: “It could take as little as a £3 million investment in Rosyth to bring back a regular passenger and freight service between Scotland and mainland Europe, but time is of the essence if it is to be fully realised. With £3 million of funding, we could get a jump-start on all of this as soon as spring 2025… The infrastructure needed is not extensive. All that is needed is improvement of some of the access roads, space for new security checks and the installation of power and associated works.”
He added: “I wrote to the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the start of October, but I received a reply only very recently, and I suspect only because this debate was on the Order Paper. This is disappointing, particularly given the small amount of money and the deadline to make this project a reality in 2025.”
Labour Government Scottish whip Martin McCluskey replied: “I would be delighted to assist [Downie] in engaging with the national wealth fund. If he would like a further discussion with the Treasury on that subject, I would be happy to facilitate a meeting with my noble friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury for him to discuss the issue further.”
He added: “Engagement and support from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland will be necessary to deliver the project he mentions. I encourage Scottish Government Ministers and officials to engage closely with my honourable friend to discuss the proposals in more detail.”
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