Recommendation 1

HM Government Accepted

7. The UK Government notes this recommendation. The UK Government recognises the importance of those in ‘rural communities’ - both within its remit of providing support for the whole of the UK and all its population, as well as the unique role they play in our national life. 8. As set out in our written evidence, to understand the expectations of Scottish rural communities, the UK Government engaged with public sector bodies, civil society groups and community organisations (representing rural businesses and communities) to hear first hand the key challenges, as well as to ensure that cost of living support measures are designed to adequately address these needs. 9. The challenges faced by our rural, remote and Island communities are often complex and cross-cutting, with no single solution. The lived experiences across rural communities in Scotland can be varied and distinguished from other parts of the UK. It is therefore important that both reserved and devolved policy levers are exercised in tandem to support these communities in Scotland against the worst of the impacts brought about by the cost of living challenges. 10. The UK Government recognises that the cost of living impacts different people in different ways and notes the Committee’s view that support could have been more tailored, but this would have required these novel schemes to be adapted and further complicated. This would have ultimately delayed UK households, including millions of Scottish homes, from receiving vital support. 11. In response to the cost of living challenges, the UK Government reacted quickly to protect households from the spike in energy prices caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last winter, with the Energy Price Guarantee, Energy Bill Support Schemes, and the Alternative Fuel Payment schemes. The UK Government devised, developed, and delivered a range of complex and novel schemes at significant pace to ensure that households could receive this vital support as soon as possible. 12. In addition to focusing on the most vulnerable in our society, these packages of support recognised the immediate needs faced by rural and remote communities, where issues with the affordability and availability of goods and services can be more acute. The UK Government recognises the difficulties faced by rural communities and understands the importance of a regular and reliable public transport system. Whilst public transport is a responsibility that is devolved to the Scottish Government, the UK Government welcomes the opportunity to share the work done on developing its paper on the “Future of Transport: Helping local authorities to unlock the benefits of technology & innovation in rural transport” and other measures to improve the transport offer for rural communities. One measure in addressing the cost of living for rural communities the UK government would highlight is the £2 pound bus fare policy. It has been both an effective and popular policy with bus users, with almost half of the respondents to the Department for Transport’s (DfT) initial analysis of the scheme saying the fare cap is the main reason they are using the bus more. 13. Seven in ten (71%) respondents were aware of the £2 fare cap. Of these, 39% of respondents said they had used the bus instead of other types of public transport because of the cap, and 40% reported they had undertaken more bus journeys since its introduction. Of those who reported switching mode as a result of the £2 fare cap, 73% reported that they had saved money on their travel costs. 14. Furthermore, and as stated previously, it has seen that in rural and non-metropolitan areas, DfT’s statistics show the overall price of bus fares between September 2022 and September 2023 dropped by almost 11%.