Letter to the Secretary of State Re impact of global fuel costs on rural communities
We have written to Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy outlining concerns that rural households may be particularly vulnerable to market increases in the price of fuel.
In our letter, we draw attention to the more than one million users of heating oil in rural England who have seen their bills increase threefold over the past year, the additional travel costs associated with living in the countryside, as well as the increasing financial pressures on various services provided in these areas which could compound experiences of isolation and poverty in the longer-run.
Like many other organisations, we are calling on the government to take immediate action to mitigate the impact of increasing fuel prices on vulnerable households. However, we believe such interventions need to be rural proofed so that the specific disadvantages faced by those living in rural parts of the countryside are not forgotten.
