Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 11
First Report - Cost of living: impact on rural communities in Scotland
Published 24 Jan 2024
Paragraph 81
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Cost of living: impact on rural communities in Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Ferries are existentially important to island communities, but also create knock-on costs for goods and services. The lack of regular, reliable, affordable and integrated transport provision–including adequate and reliable bus services - is one of the main barriers to remote rural communities mitigating the impact of the current cost of living crisis. Service disruption further hinders connectivity, preventing the movement of people and goods, therefore affecting communities’ cost of living in multiple ways. Active travel options provide limited opportunities to ease transport challenges in remote rural locations.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report - Cost of living: impact on rural communities in Scotland (HC 153), paragraph 81, 24 January 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 April 2024.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government notes the Committee's recommendations on defining rural Scotland and on transport, states that it "does not agree" with the call for a new review of cost of living support, and describes housing and transport policy as devolved matters for the Scottish Government.
- On the proposed review of winter 2022/23 support, the government says reviews by individual departments are already under way and "will address much of this recommendation", and it "does not agree" with conducting a new one.
- It says a further UK final impact and value-for-money evaluation of the energy support schemes is being commissioned to run until summer 2025, with findings to be shared with the Committee and published.
- On tailoring support to rural areas, the government says it "understands" the Committee's view that support could have been more tailored, but states that this "would have required these novel schemes to be adapted and further complicated" and delayed payments.
- On transport, the government "notes" the recommendations, says ferry, bus and active travel services are devolved, and says it will "where possible and appropriate" support the Scottish Government, including through the Islands Connectivity Task & Finish Group.