The four CalMac ferry board members who have 'never visited' ports in the Western Isles

“It is shocking that the board of CalMac have such little knowledge of the communities they serve”

CalMac is facing fresh claims it is disconnected from the communities it serves after it emerged that four out of six non-executive directors have never visited the company’s ports in the Western Isles.

Kay Ryan, Grant Macrae and Tim Ingram have not visited the island sites, which have endured some of the worst disruption within the ferry network, in a working capacity.

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Non-executive director Sharon O’Connor, who lives in Northern Ireland, has not visited any Western Isles ports, but has spent time at several sites in Argyll, according to a Freedom of Information request.

Each of the four serve on the board of David MacBrayne Limited, which is wholly owned by Scottish ministers. Its largest subsidiary company is CalMac. They are paid £320 a day for a minimum of three days work a month.

CalMac said it put engagement with island communities at the “heart of service delivery” and pointed to its Ferry Community Board, which has 14 resident members and direct dialogue with the company. But the information surrounding the visits has been met with criticism from politicians who serve the islands.

Rhoda Grant, Labour MSP for Highlands and Islands, said: “It is shocking that the board of CalMac have such little knowledge of the communities they serve. It appears to me that the SNP Government treat these island like a colonial outposts to be governed by distant boards who know nothing of the reality of living and working on our islands.

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“The economy and wellbeing of the islands and peninsulas are totally dependent on well-run, reliable ferry services.  How can distant officials with no local knowledge do that? It is high time those appointed to the CalMac Board have knowledge of the services they provide.”

Three of the non-executive directors were appointed to their board roles in November 2021, with Ms Ryan appointed late last year. She previously served as a special adviser to the Board of Loganair and and was the company’s chief commercial officer.

Grant Macrae is a chartered accountant who specialises in audits of government bodies and was appointed to the CalMac board in November 2021. He is also a board member of the Scottish Police Authority.

Meanwhile, Tim Ingram, who is based in the Aberdeen area, specialises in health and safety in the energy and maritime industry. He was a non-executive director and vice-chair of Western Isles NHS Board Duncan Mackison, interim chief executive of CalMac, said its board members had a range of professional backgrounds and were all “passionate about delivering” for people on the west coast.

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He said: “CalMac has placed engagement with island communities at the heart of service delivery and it was our initiative, with the full support of our own board, to create a Ferry Community Board (FCB) with representation from a wide range of islands.

“Established in 2017, the FCB meets with our board regularly to discuss the challenges of the ferry service in general and in relation to individual island communities, and that is supplemented by ongoing dialogue with local CalMac teams and our senior management team. The most recent meeting between the two boards was earlier this week. 

“Following the Scottish Government’s recent decision to extend the current ferry contract by a year, we have committed to do even more to enhance dialogue with islands at a strategic and local level.”

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