Cost-of-living support packages in Scotland were not ‘rural-proofed’, MPs say
The Scottish Affairs Committee said the UK and Scottish Governments must reflect on how future policy impacts rural Scots.
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Your support makes all the difference.Households living in rural Scotland were “lumbered with a rural premium” during the cost-of-living crisis, a Westminster committee has warned.
The Scottish Affairs Committee has urged the Scottish and UK Governments to consider how future policies can be “rural-proofed” to meet the needs of those living in communities with fewer than 3,000 people.
Despite UK-wide policies capping the average energy bill, and targeted cost-of-living payments to those on benefits, the committee warned that rural communities faced higher prices on energy, food and transport than those in urban areas.
Evidence received by the committee during its investigation found the highest rates of fuel poverty in Scotland were in the Western Isles, Highlands and Argyll and Bute.
The blanket level of energy support provided was not sufficiently rural-proofed – it did not account for additional costs required for many households in rural Scotland
The report said: “The blanket level of energy support provided was not sufficiently rural-proofed – it did not account for additional costs required for many households in rural Scotland.
“Energy schemes prioritised administrative ease to accelerate funds getting to people over specific targeting.
“Whilst understandable in the context of the immediate crisis, a system of support more tailored towards the acute pressures faced by rural communities would have been more effective.”
The Scottish Government also faced a backlash over the delay to two “lifeline” ferries which were anticipated to serve rural areas.
The report noted that committee MPs “share the anger and frustration” of islanders by the “ongoing failure of the Scottish Government to deliver two lifeline ferries which are, so far, six years late and £250 million over budget”.
We must learn lessons from the economic challenges both households have faced over the last few years
Pete Wishart, chair of the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: “During the cost-of-living crisis, people living in remote parts of Scotland have found themselves in a perfect storm of poorly-insulated, high-energy usage homes with an extended journey to local amenities and food shopping bills off the charts.
“Schemes implemented by both the UK and Scottish Governments have been welcomed in large parts of Scotland, but the reality is these households have been lumbered with a rural premium that’s hasn’t been adequately addressed by state support.
“We must learn lessons from the economic challenges both households have faced over the last few years.
“I hope both the UK and Scottish Governments will use this time to properly understand the support these communities will need to prevent them falling further into poverty should they face similar problems in the future.”
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who sits on the committee in his role as an MP, said: “Even the SNP members of this committee have delivered a damning verdict on how their party is failing rural Scotland.
“The report makes it clear that the SNP Government’s overwhelming failure to deliver on a number of areas is having a devastating effect on rural communities and businesses.”
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon said: “It is important to recognise there are huge advantages to living in rural Scotland – people live longer, tend to be happier, are more likely to be in work, children do well at school, have healthier diets and are more likely to be in work, training or education after school.
“But we agree with the Scottish Affairs Committee which confirms what we have been saying for some time. Thanks to Brexit, and UK Government-made cost-of-living pressures, there is a rural premium. It does cost more to live and work in rural Scotland, especially for energy and food.
“We do all that we can with all that we have to mitigate that premium. Despite a deeply challenging budget situation, the Scottish Government will invest over a billion pounds – £1,093 million – in rural industries and in island, coastal and rural communities in 2024-25.
“Without independence, rural Scotland will continue to pay the price of UK Government austerity.”
The UK Government has been asked for comment.