I’ve welcomed a commitment from the Scottish Government to more than double heating oil support for Scottish households in light of the UK Government’s recent announcement of £4.6million.
Scottish Energy Secretary, Gillian Martin MSP, announced in Holyrood this week an additional £5.4million in support for consumers across Scotland struggling to pay their energy costs as fuel prices skyrocket due to the US-Israel conflict in Iran.
The UK Government announced £4.6 million on Monday as their support package for “vulnerable” heating oil customers. Analysis by the Poverty Alliance revealed that this would only equate to around £35 per household. During her announcement in Holyrood, the Scottish Energy Secretary criticised the Labour Government for their slow response to these spikes with a level of support that ‘does not go far enough’.
I would agree – the UK Government not only took their time to step into the breach to support households who rely on oil for heating with soaring costs caused by this illegal war in the Middle East but also failed to match the reality of the spike shocks they face as a result. £35 per household is a paltry amount given the increases we have seen. Thankfully the Scottish Government have a better understanding of the scale of the problem with their significant intervention which will bring the support pot up to a much more pragmatic and effective £10million in total.
The UK Government are out of touch with the reality of living in the North-east where we have long winters and often hard Springs, with many people already living in fuel poverty and unable to afford to heat their homes due to existing high energy costs. This war has only made matters worse as prices reach eye-watering heights, and many could face hypothermia as a result.
Earlier this week in the House of Commons, I pressed the Parliamentary Under Secretary for Energy Security, Martin McCluskey MP, to advise of further interventions Labour plan to take to support people during this ongoing crisis. After all, no one knows when this conflict will end and these surges in fuel prices could only get worse. They need to plan for every eventuality and not leave people literally out in the cold. They also need to think out of the box for solutions, for instance, the UK Government could use VAT Windfall receipts to provide universal support.
Unsurprisingly, Mr McCluskey had no answers for me in reply to my question. I will continue to press him on behalf of my constituents who face the injustice of living in energy rich Scotland without any of the benefits due to mismanagement at Westminster.
I have now signed a joint draft letter with my SNP MP colleagues to the Chancellor demanding that the Labour Government up their level of support for people using heating oil. Scotland’s rural communities should not be paying the price for this illegal war, nor should they bear the brunt of Labour’s failure to support them in a time of crisis. More information on Scottish Government support is due to be available in next few days.
