Rural households 'suffering the most' as fuel and energy costs soar
Date of alert:
Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
West Mercia Police
Rural households are suffering most from soaring petrol and energy costs, councillors in the south west of Shropshire have said.
They have raised concerns about the soaring price of fuel, especially for the vulnerable in those areas which do not have mains gas. They are calling for the government to step in and look at scrapping the planning National Insurance rise or to lower VAT for a year.
Heather Kidd, Shropshire councillor for Chirbury and Worthen division, said: “Not far outside our major towns mains gas supplies stop. Although the cost of all fuels are rising, the cost of coal, bottled gas and especially fuel oil are soaring – the very fuels many rural householders are dependent on.”
Councillor Kidd said there were some 1.5 million rural households that rely on oil deliveries to heat their home.
"Many of them have seen prices more than triple over the past six months and that is before the impact of the war in the Ukraine.
"People using oil to heat their homes are not covered by Ofgem’s price cap – leaving them exposed to oil price rises. The vast bulk of these in Shropshire live in rural locations, often in older, poorly insulated properties. Others use LPG and that has soaring costs too and there are delivery issues owing to a lack of drivers.
