Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of (a) the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime, (b) rising fuel prices and (c) other increased transport costs on tourism to the Isle of Wight.

As set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy, emissions pricing is a vital policy to decarbonise the sector, and the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to domestic maritime was assessed on a scheme wide basis. The Impact Assessment concluded that the policy is not expected to materially affect the competitiveness of ports or operators. The UK ETS Maritime regime will be reviewed in 2028.

The Government recognises the importance of ferry services to the Isle of Wight and continues to engage closely with cross-Solent ferry operators to understand impacts of fuel prices and other costs on businesses and tourism in the area.