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SNP calls for fuel cut
Page 14
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The S\P has pledged its support for operators in the north-east of Scotland. David Harris reports.
THE SCOTTISH National Party (SNP) is backing hauliers in the north-east of Scotland with a call for a cut in fuel duty in response to high fuel prices and the Working Time Directive.
Senior SNP politicians, including the party's shadow Transport Minister Fergus Howie and shadow Rural Affairs Minister Richard Lochhead, have met the region's hauliers, including RA Howie and forestry specialist Bryan Harper.The SNP wants fuel prices capped so if they rose past a predetermined level the Chancellor's tax take would fall in order to keep the pump prices down (see analysis, page 20).
Operators in north-east Scotland tend to have the longest distances to travel so they consume more fuel than those based elsewhere, as well as paying higher prices at the pump.
Bryan Harper, whose firm is based at Insch. says the meeting went "fairly well" but admits that the SNP's backing might be of limited use: "They said the right things, but it is easy for them to say what we want to hear — not so easy for them to deliver policy changes."
One significant problem is that fuel tax is controlled by the Westminster Parliament, not the Scottish Parliament.
Harper says another challenge faced by hauliers in the north-east of Scotland is the WTD: "It has a disproportionate effect here because we are so far from the marketplace. It's a disaster for productivity."
Richard Lochhead has called for an analysis of transport costs faced by hauliers in the region.