By Carole Dennett
IW West MP Richard Quigley caught the Speaker’s eye in the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions today, raising concerns about the impact of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme on cross‑Solent ferry services.
Mr Quigley said the Isle of Wight remained “a fantastic place to live, work and learn”, but warned that reliability, frequency and the cost of ferry travel continued to be major challenges for residents. He told MPs that the Emissions Trading Scheme — which currently applies only to hybrid vessels — risked pushing fares even higher, despite exemptions already granted to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
He also highlighted the lack of grid capacity needed to support full decarbonisation of the Solent fleet, saying he was “deeply concerned about the impact on our island community”, and asked the Prime Minister to instruct ministers in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to review the issue urgently.
The Prime Minister did not give the commitment Mr Quigley was seeking, but acknowledged the importance of affordable ferry travel for Islanders. He said the ETS scheme would “make journeys cleaner” and that the Government was working with ferry operators on improving grid connections in ports to support greener vessels.
He added that he would ensure Mr Quigley received a meeting with the relevant minister.
The full exchange:
Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight):
Thank you Mr Speaker. As the Prime Minister will have heard me say, the Isle of Wight is a fantastic place to live work and learn, despite the Leader of the Opposition trying to give us to China. He will also be aware of some of the challenges we have in cross-Solent transport- reliability, frequency and price. The Emissions Trading Scheme, which ironically only applies to hybrid vessels, may increase fares further, despite exemptions granted for Scotland and Northern Ireland and the lack of grid capacity to fully decarbonize. I am deeply concerned about the impact on our island community. Will the Prime Minister urgently ask DESNZ [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero] ministers to review this issue?
The Prime Minister:
I thank him for his question I know how important affordable ferries are for his constituents’ everyday lives. The ETS scheme will make journeys cleaner and we’re working with working with ferry companies on the grid connections in ports to enable greener vessels.
I’ll make sure that he gets a meeting with the relevant minister.
