MSP blasts government over heating oil support

CALLS for better heating oil support for people in southern Scotland were issued this week. MSPs have criticised the UK government over the heating oil support package which will amount to £35 per person. Scotland is set to receive £4.6 million from the package for the 140,000 households that use heating oil. The amount was then topped up by the Scottish Government who pledged £5.4 million bringing the fund up to £10 million. SNP MSP, Emma Harper, has blasted the £4.6m for Scotland as a “kick in the teeth” for Scotland’s rural communities. She said: “The response by Sir Keir Starmer’s government has been frankly shameful – a paltry £35 per person is simply insulting and shows how low down we are when it comes to Westminster’s priorities. “So I am now joining forces with MSPs from other rural constituencies to again demand real action and real support from the UK, not public relations schemes. “Rural communities are being punished here and this so-called support fund is a hard knock especially in an energy rich country like Scotland.