Fifth hearing for Fuel Petition
‘The biggest problem, as ever, facing the islands is people leaving. Fuel costs are regularly cited to me as one of the things that makes life difficult for people. When people come to your surgeries and say they are in a benefits trap because they can no longer afford to travel to work, there is a serious problem, and one which I believe, we should be tackling.
‘Things were made no easier recently when BP decided to discontinue the use of its fuel cards at petrol stations in Lewis. That will take hundreds of thousands of pounds out of the economy of my constituency alone, and people do feel a certain sense of injustice that BP have picked on the areas with some of the highest fuel costs in the world on which to take this action.
‘I was pleased therefore that the Committee has agreed to keep to keep this petition live and write to the UK Government about issues relating to fuel tax and the lack of competition among suppliers in some of Scotland’s island communities.’
Although the issues addressed by the petition remain unresolved, Committee convener, Patrick Harvie MSP, indicated that the committee would be looking to close the petition at their next meeting.
Petition details are available on the Scottish Parliament Website’s Petitions Pages
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