Politicians want more fuel concessions 27/11/11
Local politicians have welcomed the 5p cut in fuel duty for the islands but say it is not enough.
MSP Alasdair Allan commented: “It is a credit to the many campaigners on this issue in the islands that the UK Government has finally given a date on which their long promised cut in fuel duty for island communities will be implemented.
“It is less a credit to the Westminster Government that they will have taken a year and a half since they first announced this policy to enact it, during which time island fuel prices have soared.
“Welcome as the belated news is, it still leaves unanswered questions about the continuing huge differential between fuel costs in the islands and most of the mainland.”
Mr Allan said he was meeting with island fuel campaigners over the issue.
He said: “I believe we still need to press Scottish Fuels, who supply the Western Isles with their fuel about the reasons for this, and I note that a petition on these issues is likely to be presented to the Scottish Parliament’s Petitions Committee.”
MP Angus MacNeil said: “Fuel is one of the main issues of concern in rural areas, and while I welcome that we have a victory and a start date for this scheme. I have been arguing for this scheme for the past five years.
“The previous Labour Government did nothing to help and while I am pleased that this Coalition Government have moved, had they been nimbler the scheme could have been in place by now.
“We will still have to be wary in case of any teething problems for retailers when it starts to get going.
“The price of fuel has been rising steadily for the past two years, with it now at record levels, and the gulf in price between the Hebrides and the mainland being nearly 18p a litre. This will go some way to helping motorists, and I would hope that the Chancellor George Osborne will also scrap the proposed 3p a litre fuel duty increase that is being proposed in January 2012.
“Further, we must not forget that in July 2008, George Osborne launched plans for a ‘Fair Fuel Stabiliser’, describing it as a ‘common sense plan’. We need to see action on that area now from the Government too. As well as being common sense, it is answerable and fair for Scotland, given that we pay amongst the highest fuel prices in Europe even as Scottish oil revenues surge into the UK Exchequer.
“With record North Sea oil and gas revenues flowing to the Treasury this year, we need to see some of that money being used to bring fuel prices down – and to keep them stable – through a fuel duty regulator.
“The Tories and Lib Dems promised action on this before last year’s General Election. They have the money – Scotland’s oil money – and the powers to deliver.
“If Westminster will not act, the powers should be passed to the Scottish Parliament so that it can. If Scotland had control of fuel duty, the SNP Government would introduce a fuel duty regulator to lower prices now and we would have had next spring’s Island Rural Fuel Derogation in place years ago.”