Rural Affairs Committee, 01 Feb 2000
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 1, 2000
Official Report
168KB pdf
Petrol Price Inquiry
The next item is a report on the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee meeting on petrol prices. A number of members of this committee were present—who wants to give a report on what took place?
I will kick off and Irene McGugan will follow. John Munro also attended the meeting.
The meeting took evidence from the Highlands and Islands hydrocarbon action group, Arran Council for Voluntary Service, oil companies and the Petrol Retailers Association.
The first two groups of witnesses pointed out the problems with petrol pricing in the Highlands and Islands and rural areas. The oil companies were heard next, although quite a few of us would have preferred to hear the Petrol Retailers Association prior to hearing the oil companies.
The oil companies said that they had a scheduled price, which was standard, but following discussion we discovered that they give rebates and that they have different pricing policies, depending on the content of a contract. It was difficult to discover how the pricing was set. One fact that arose from the discussion was that there should be a disparity of around 3p per litre of petrol, regardless of which rural area one is in. The oil companies said that they had no control over whether the disparity was greater than 3p. The retailers were unhappy because their contracts differed, depending on where they were located and on turnover. They felt that the oil companies were squeezing them badly. Some interesting suggestions were made, but I will let Irene carry on.
Some of the evidence was complex and contradictory, so the inquiry is not at an end but will continue for some time yet.
The clerks will bring an outline of the issues that arose from yesterday's evidence to the next meeting of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee. They will also seek further submissions from those witnesses who were present yesterday but who may wish to provide additional information. The committee was also minded to get feedback from sources not present yesterday, in order to widen the inquiry.
A number of factors were aired thoroughly, but they, in turn, threw up other issues that will be addressed at the next meeting.
I think that Rhoda has covered the afternoon's discussion. As she pointed out, the discussion was rather strange in that the last gentleman who spoke launched an Exocet through the earlier presentations by the representatives of the oil companies. If that gentleman had spoken first, that would have changed the whole attitude of the meeting.
I spoke to some of my Highlands colleagues afterwards, and they are most anxious for the Rural Affairs Committee to await the report of the meeting and take the matter from there. As Irene McGugan said, they want to continue the discussion and to invite the gentleman from the Petrol Retailers Association and others who might lend weight to the argument. They are anxious for a motion to be lodged before the budget to ensure that there is a defence against the possibility of further increases in fuel prices. They would also like to present a paper at some point prior to the budget.
My Highlands colleagues went away reassured that they had a lot of support and that the claim that the oil companies were not the niggers in the woodpile had been exposed. I think that they were well pleased with their day's visit to Edinburgh.
The Office of Fair Trading, which also had representatives at the meeting, is undertaking an investigation. However, it became fairly clear to some people that the scope and nature of the OFT's inquiry might not be any more revealing than similar reports in the past. Folk from the Highlands are looking more to this committee's investigation to get to the root of the matter and come up with real answers.
You said that the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee hoped to continue its investigation—does it have a detailed proposal to do so at its next meeting?
Yes.
Does the committee agree to ask the same three representatives to attend that meeting and monitor the situation?
Members indicated agreement.
When the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee produces its report at the end of the inquiry, this committee would be keen to consider that report and understand any implications for our on-going work.
Are there any other comments on petrol pricing before we move on?
The issue will certainly take up a lot of our attention. At the weekend, I spoke to a self-employed haulier from Aberdeenshire who transports grain and other products. Nine years ago, he spent a third of his income on fuel; now he spends fifty per cent and the cost is crippling him. I expect that the issue of petrol pricing will impinge on our investigation into rural employment.