Views
Fairer deal needed for Highland motorists - for The Inverness Courier
WITH the rising oil price pushing petrol prices at some Highland filling stations beyond £1 a litre, now is a good time to be looking at ways through the tax system to reduce the cost of fuel for drivers in rural areas.
I hope next week to have the chance to debate in the House of Commons amendments that I have tabled to the Finance Bill to allow a lower level of fuel duty to be charged in rural areas.
People in the Highlands and Islands face a triple whammy - higher fuel prices, longer distances to travel, and no alternative but to use their car. In rural areas, a car is a necessity, not a luxury. For a variety of reasons, prices at rural and island filling stations tend to be considerably higher. Even in Inverness, the absurd situation whereby Tesco charge a higher price for petrol here than at their store in Elgin is well documented. Other European governments have been able to relieve the burden of high fuel prices in rural areas by allowing a duty cut, and the UK government should do the same.
This is allowable under EU law and indeed last year the British government voted in favour of allowing the French government to go ahead with a reduction. Yet Labour Ministers have so far refused to consider the idea here because they fear that motorists will take advantage - though the idea that cash-strapped Edinburgh drivers will make their way to Dalwhinnie to fill-up seems pretty unlikely to me!
Separately, Lib Dems have also proposed that road tax should be more steeply graded to encourage people to choose a more fuel efficient vehicle when they buy a new car. Taken together, these proposals would relieve the impact of high fuel prices on people who have no choice but to use a car while also giving them an incentive to drive a more environmentally-friendly vehicle.
With incomes low and fuel expensive, high fuel prices are hitting the economy of the Highlands and Islands hard.
Our amendments would help the rural economy and the environment - providing real sustainability. I hope that all parties will support these amendments and the fairer deal for rural communities that they would deliver. Of course, the other major transport issue facing the Highlands is the need to improve our road and rail infrastructure. There is no doubt in my mind that the A9, A96, and A82 all require upgrading, and I will continue to make this case forcibly. But we should also welcome the steps that have already been taken by Nicol Stephen and his successor as transport minister Tavish Scott, not least the work being done on plans to dual the A9 as far as Pitlochry and the progress being made on designs for an upgraded A96 as far as Inverness airport.
Hi-Trans, now that it is a statutory body, has a crucial role to play in setting out the priorities for the Highlands as a whole.
I hope that when its strategy is published it will give a high priority to these major routes to and through the Highlands.
It is also worth noting that these three trunk roads meet in Inverness, and the connection between them can be much improved by completing the appropriately described Trunk Link Road. I have always said that this project will best be delivered through close co-operation between local, regional and national authorities and again it is crucial that HiTrans puts this project high on its list. I will certainly continue to campaign hard for improvements, as well as for a fairer fuel price in the Highlands.
Inverness College - A flourishing further and higher education sector is vital for the future development of Inverness. The capital of the Highlands should have education institutions to match our aspirations and able to meet the needs of both a growing population and those from further afield who wish to come and study here.
It is has been depressing for all concerned to read continued stories about the financial failings of Inverness College, not least for academic staff who have continued, among all the uncertainty, to work so hard to deliver a high standard of teaching.
There are real signs, though, that under its new principal the college is finally turning the corner.
Posted on: 04/07/2006
