HC Deb 04 July 1979 vol 969 cc1357-9
9. Mr. John Home Robertson

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is satisfied with the state of fuel supplies in rural areas of Scotland, and what steps he proposes to take now and during the coming winter to ensure that essential public services and industries will receive adequate fuel supplies.

Mr. Younger

While I am satisfied that supplies in rural areas are in general adequate, I recognise that there have been distribution problems in specific areas. I am satisfied that the major oil companies are making efforts to achieve an equitable distribution of oil products and are well aware of the need to rebuild stocks for the coming winter. The Government are watching the situation closely and will do all they can to help where serious difficulties arise.

Mr. Home Robertson

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the fuel supply problem in many rural areas is being aggravated because the percentage reductions being applied by the various companies, which range from 5 per cent. to 20 per cent., are based on the 1978 figures, which were themselves distorted because there was a price war going on during 1978? Is the Secretary of State aware also that the position in my constituency is already serious and that many petrol stations are running dry, including some which normally supply ambulances? May we have an assurance that he is prepared, if the need arises, to take urgent and active steps to ensure supplies when demand surges at the time of the harvest and in the coming winter?

Mr. Younger

We shall always do our best to respond to any crisis brought to our attention. In one instance it was brought to our attention that there were difficulties in obtaining supplies of fuel for ambulances, and I believe that that has been resolved satisfactorily. The local supplier is the best person to respond to genuine local difficulties. Where that procedure fails to resolve a serious problem for an essential service, or where there is revealed inequity of treatment by the supplier, I shall always be prepared to help if I can.

Mr. David Steel

Will the right hon. Gentleman try to persuade his colleagues in the Department of Energy that there are serious problems in the Borders area of Scotland that must be considered distinctively? Is he aware that some suppliers are facing cuts in supply of up to 50 per cent? There is now a lay-off of lorry drivers among the small hauliers, which is extremely serious with the late harvest approaching.

Mr. Younger

The problem is complex. It is made more so because different companies have different quotas and different sources of supply. In general, supplies are available in most areas. Where pockets of difficulty arise we can usually do something to iron out the problems. I shall try to do that wherever possible.

Mr. Peter Fraser

I recognise that some petrol companies are indulging in slightly doubtful tactics under the cover of a distribution crisis. However, will my right hon. Friend take this opportunity to reassure would-be visitors from south of the border that Scotland is not a petrol desert north of the Tay, and that there are still real opportunities for them to enjoy their holidays in Scotland this summer?

Mr. Younger

I appreciate what my hon. Friend says. I think that the oil companies are mostly doing their best in what is a difficult situation for them as well. Some tourists have been having difficulty, but in general none of them need fear that if they come to Scotland on holiday they are likely to be left completely dry of petrol. I understand that the Scottish Tourist Board will soon be mounting a campaign to try to counter that idea.

Mr. Gordon Wilson

As Scotland will be exporting 55 million tonnes of oil this year, how can the Government justify any fuel shortage?

Mr. Younger

Scotland will be importing a good deal of gas from other parts of the United Kingdom. The hon. Gentleman should realise that it is an international market and that the United Kingdom is currently extremely well placed. We are in a much better position than most of our neighbours, provided that everybody exercises common sense in a difficult situation.

Mr. George Robertson

On 11 June, the Secretary of State for Energy assured his hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeenshire, East (Mr. McQuarrie) that he was taking immediate steps to deal with the crisis in rural areas and that these steps would be effective. As it is clear that there are still widespread problems throughout Scotland, how can the right hon. Gentleman sustain the myth and the fiction that a free market in petrol will solve the problems of the rural areas? How can he say that tourists will have no problems in finding petrol supplies this summer?

Mr. Younger

First, I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his new responsibilities, upon which I congratulates him. Secondly, I cannot agree with him if he suggests that there is a widespread and wholesale impossibility of obtaining petrol throughout Scotland. That is not so, and I hope that those who are thinking of coming to Scotland will not take that view. There are bound to be difficulties. Nobody can pretend that everything will be plain sailing. If there are special difficulties in certain areas, the Scottish Office will always be willing to try to help. We have been able to provide help so far whenever a request has been made.