Ferries: Coronavirus

(asked on 20th April 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on support for private ferry companies affected by the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Kelly Tolhurst Portrait
Kelly Tolhurst
This question was answered on 28th April 2020

The Coronavirus outbreak is among the biggest challenges our transport industry has ever confronted, and I am grateful for the sustained efforts by ferry operators in running crucial services to support the continued flow of freight. The Government announced an unprecedent package of financial measures worth £350 billion to support companies through these challenging times and a full range of support schemes have been made available to UK businesses. My department is working closely with maritime operators to consider how these apply to them.

In addition, on 24 April we announced a package of funding to support lifeline services and critical freight routes. This includes up to £10.5m for lifeline services to the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight, up to £17m for critical freight routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and support for up to 26 critical freight routes between Great Britain and mainland Europe.

We will continue to work closely with industry to monitor the implementation of these measures to continue these vital services.

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