Finance Bill

I rise to support my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) and to congratulate him on having taken on board the criticisms that have been made in the past and coming up with a workable and sensible scheme. If I had a criticism of it, it would be that it shows too much restraint and not enough generosity, but I would rather have some crumbs than none at all, so I am happy to support him. If there is an element of ““Groundhog Day”” about this debate, I make no apology for entering the fray again. As a great Scottish king once said, if at first you do not succeed, try, try and try again. My hon. Friend is certainly doing his best. The issue is simple. As I drove down the A9 this morning, in Brora, petrol was 102.9p a litre, so it is at a premium compared with the figures that my hon. Friend gave for Inverness, Edinburgh and London. That is a regular occurrence. Over the years that I have spoken about this issue, I have looked at the premium on many occasions and it ranges from a minimum of 6p up to a maximum in my constituency of 12p. The reason is straightforward—it has been investigated repeatedly by the relevant competition authorities—and it is because there are too few vehicles crossing the forecourt to provide sufficient cash income to cover the fixed costs of running that forecourt. Therefore, the extra price is necessary. My hon. Friend spoke of the triple whammy, and I will not labour that point, but I will point out some of the facts about the location of petrol stations. If one is at the western end of the north coast at Durness and one drives for an hour or so to Tongue, which is about halfway across, there are no petrol stations in between. It is some 50 miles, but much of the road is single track and it is mostly empty and straight, so one drives at an average 50 to 55 mph. Between Tongue and Thurso there are two petrol stations, one in Caithness, near Thurso, and one that is about halfway. If one goes south from Durness to Kinlochbervie, which is the best part of two hours to drive, there is one filling station on the main road at Scourie. The residents of those areas therefore have to drive up to 20 miles and back just to fill up. Part of the problem is that rural filling stations have closed because they have been unable to keep going for the commercial reasons that I have mentioned. We all accept that in the 21st century transport in such areas is not a luxury but a necessity. If one wishes to access a hospital from the north of Sutherland, one has a 200-mile plus round trip, with no public transport that can get one there. The NHS Highlands is good about providing taxis for those who cannot access private cars, but the vast bulk of people have to use a private car. Many services that people throughout the country take for granted as readily accessible are, as a matter of course in the far north, a 20, 30, 40 or 50 mile journey. My hon. Friend’s scheme of a 2.4p rebate, based on the tight criteria he has drawn and using the experience of the Scottish Executive’s air discount scheme, which applies to Caithness and most of Sutherland as well as the islands, is a good one. He has given the figures for the cost to the Exchequer, but he has worked them out on the basis that 100 per cent. of those eligible will take up the scheme. As we know from questions asked in the Treasury Committee, the take-up rates of almost every benefit offered are 50 per cent. or lower. It is therefore highly unlikely that that cost would be the effective cost. I have one small suggestion that might help, which is to devolve the issue to the Scottish Government and let them pay for it out of the block grant. That would remove the cost from the Treasury entirely and please the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Stewart Hosie). The burden carried by my constituents is very real and I have sought to bring it before the House on several occasions, as have my hon. Friends who represent similar constituencies. It is a genuinely practical scheme, which would allow Ministers to put something in place that would alleviate that burden without giving any advantage. I was heartened to hear the hon. Member for Wycombe (Mr. Goodman), speaking for the Unionists, talk about his agreement with the principle, which is a great step forward from last year. I only hope that the occupants of the Treasury Bench will have undergone a Damascene conversion from their somewhat uncaring attitude and that we may look forward to some encouragement at least from the Financial Secretary.