Written evidence submitted by Ian Wellby (SRI0052)

I write to outline the case for the Committee to investigate the poor state of cross-Solent connectivity between the Isle of Wight and mainland UK, and ways in which it could be improved.

By way of background, the Isle of Wight is the largest and most populous offshore island in England with a population of c. 140k. Transport to and from the Isle of Wight is provided by three principal ferry operators -Wightlink, Red Funnel and Hovertravel -all of whom are in private, for-profit ownership. Whilst Red Funnel and Hovertravel have always been in private ownership, it is notable that the privatisation of the routes now operated by Wightlink (previously part of British Rail) took place without any form of regulation or public service obligation being placed on them. This stands in sharp contrast to the privatisation of most of the rest of British Rail in the 1990s.

Without any obligations or regulation existing, these three operators provide cross-Solent vehicle and passenger services entirely at their discretion. As private companies, their principal focus is understandably maximising the return to their respective shareholders, who have saddled their investments with high levels of debt. Given the essential lifeline nature of these services – i.e. in providing connectivity between the Isle of Wight and mainland England – this is an unacceptable model – and out of kilter with comparable services throughout the rest of the UK. Both the high ticket costs and poor service regularity that has resulted from zero public service obligations are causing significant hardships for those living and working on the Island, including:

-Reduced access to specialist healthcare treatment on the mainland. Unlike the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly (the only other English island accessible by sea), have (government funded) arrangements in place that cap the cost of NHS-funded patient travel to the mainland at just £5. By contrast, a return passenger fare to Southampton is over £30 and if a car is needed, typically well over £100 (although some concessions are provided by the operators, but these are not on a scale of what is made available Isles of Scilly residents).

-A negative impact on the Island businesses, with a range of issues related to poor connectivity holding the Island economy back. These include expensive and slow deliveries through to the lack of late night services, impacting investors and executives travelling to the Island (an issue specifically raised by BAE, a key high-technology Island employer).

-Lack of joined-up connectivity with other public transport infrastructure, most notably rail services. This is particularly the case for the “FastCat” service between Ryde Pier Head and Portsmouth Harbour, which is effectively part of the National Rail network

-Significant quality-of-life impacts for Island residents on low incomes, who are at times effectively prisoners on the Island by virtue of exorbitant ferry fares (some of the highest per-mile ferry costs in the world) meaning they are unable to access mainland services or attend events such as family weddings and funerals. While it is beyond the scope of this submission to present a preferred solution(s) to solving the unacceptable state of cross-Solent travel, I would encourage the committee to investigate and potentially apply learnings from the transport arrangements enjoyed by other UK Islands. In particular, ferry transport to Scottish Islands is subsidised by Transport for Scotland, with a Road Equivalent Transport (RET) policy in place. The current ownership structure of routes serving the Isle of Wight does not allow for this.

However, in 2020 we saw – for the first time – the Government introduce legislation to intervene in the cross-Solent travel market -effectively putting in place public subsidy in exchange for minimum service obligations during the pandemic. This should serve as both a recognition by government of the vital importance of cross-Solent transport provision, and a precedent for further invention to improve services and outcomes for the Island.

I implore the committee to now investigate the radical solutions needed to provide Islanders with the connectivity they deserve.

February 2023