Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what reassurances they have had from the Council of the Isles of Scilly that their plans to establish a special purpose vehicle to manage the proposed £48 million grant from the Levelling Up Fund for the procurement of lifeline shipping services comply with local government procurement rules.

The Levelling Up Fund grant to the Council of the Isles of Scilly is dependent upon obtaining an approved compliant full business case for replacement vessels and harbour works. The council has begun a soft market testing exercise to seek other interested parties who may be interested in the project. Any business case or potential future SPV arrangement would need to comply with public procurement rules and would be developed with specialist legal advice.