Na H-Eileanan an Iar SNP MP Angus MacNeil has been in contact with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) asking them to consider holding a meeting in the Western Isles so that they can hear firsthand the challenges facing consumers and businesses in the area. OFT recently started a fact finding review on why the prices of goods and services are higher in rural areas, and among the issues they will be closely looking at is the high price of fuel. During this review OFT will be holding meetings in a number of rural areas, currently the Western Isles is not among these venues.

Commenting Angus MacNeil said:

“While I welcome that the Office of Fair Trading are carrying out this review, I was disappointed to see that they are not planning to hold a meeting in the Western Isles to find out from consumers and from businesses here about the high price of goods and services, and in particular the high price of fuel.

“If there is one issue in the Western Isles that angers people, it is the high price of fuel in comparison to the mainland, which has a huge knock on affect on other goods and services in the Hebrides.

“I hope that the OFT look at my request favourably and that they will agree to hold a meeting in the Western Isles to hear for themselves the strong views many people have on this issue.”

Anyone wanting to take part in this study can do so by going to www.oft.gov.uk/remcom    or email remotecommunities@oft.gsi.gov.uk

 

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