Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 03 February 2022
I do. I am just coming to that, actually.
That is, of course, not a conclusive argument against the policy. The chancellor has today announced proposals to smooth price fluctuations over longer periods. I note that approaches such as that are addressed in the Labour motion.
On a wider scale, little progress has been made, sadly, towards diversifying domestic heat supplies. We are still scratching the surface of moving homes from fossil fuel dependence to renewable heat. My region, the Highlands and Islands, has long faced issues around high fuel costs. We have a considerably higher than average number of properties that are not connected to mains gas and are reliant on oil and liquefied petroleum gas tanks, or electricity, at higher cost.
Households that are already spending a larger proportion of their incomes on energy, whether through low income or higher energy costs, will be hardest hit by the cost increase. For people in that position, particularly many people in the northern isles, where fuel poverty rates are higher, it is particularly galling to be surrounded by wind turbines but to see no benefit in their bills.
Although we must consider the people who will be hardest hit by energy costs, we should also look at other areas. The Scottish Government’s budget for next year is currently going through Parliament. Earlier today, I questioned the Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth on the Government’s approach to the local government financial settlement. While ministers have, yet again, been busy patting themselves on the back for reducing the levels of their cuts to already stretched council finances, there is still the likelihood that many local authorities will address the cuts with council tax rises in order to keep services running.
Higher costs have hit transport at all levels. That is another area in which the Highlands and Islands, like many remote and rural parts of Scotland, will feel the pinch. When local public transport options such as bus routes are lost, people are forced to drive, with all the additional costs that that incurs.
On an issue that is of particular relevance to my region, I note that at the end of last year the Scottish Government decided that interisland ferries would not be covered by the young persons travel scheme.