HUME - CALLS FOR A FREEZE ON FUEL DUTY (Jim Hume)

HUME - CALLS FOR A FREEZE ON FUEL DUTY

January 28, 2008 12:00 AM

Jim Hume, MSP for the South of Scotland, has today called on the Scottish Government to put pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to freeze the proposed spring 2008 increase on fuel duty of 2p per litre and to redress the imbalance between rural and urban fuel prices.

Jim Hume said:-

"The cost of fuel for constituents in the South of Scotland is crippling because the region is so big and is largely rural in its make up.

"Public transport infrastructure in many parts of the South of Scotland is poor and non existent in some, so for many people owning a car is a vital tool to allow them to get to and from work.

The MSP continued:-

"The added pressure for people is that the price of fuel at the pump is so much higher in rural locations than for example the price in more urban or suburban areas so people living in rural towns and villages are automatically at a disadvantage.

"Liberal Democrats at Westminster tried to obtain a concession in the form of a rural fuel discount scheme which, although hugely sensible and modest in terms of cost to the government, failed to make it through the House of Commons.

"I have today called upon the Scottish government to put pressure on the Chancellor to freeze fuel duty and to look at the difference in fuel prices between our countryside and cities. The proposed duty increase next spring can only be detrimental to both individuals in the South of Scotland and of course businesses that need the road to operate successfully."