Heating Oil Prices: Rural Areas

Torcuil Crichton Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Westminster Hall

[Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. I thank the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for securing this important debate.

I pay tribute to the Labour Government for putting heating oil on the agenda for the first time; for a long time, most Governments have ignored off-grid homes. I know that the hon. Member would recognise a peat turf if it were thrown at him. Peat is how most homes in my Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency were heated traditionally, but of course most have now been converted to oil. Forty-eight per cent of homes in the Western Isles rely on heating oil. Because of the age and condition of the homes, the Atlantic weather and the demographics of the population, 40% of households are in fuel poverty. In fact, it is worse than that, because 24% of households are in extreme fuel poverty: they spend over 20% of their income on keeping their homes warm in winter. Heating their homes is a huge challenge.

That is why the £53 million heating oil support scheme, and the £10 million to Scotland, was very welcome. The Scottish Government added £5.4 million to the £4.6 million from the UK Government. They had to do it bigger and better, and they centralised it. The result, of course, is that none of the money is getting to the Western Isles. Only 324 of the nearly 13,000 households there—3%—have received support, and another 337 have been turned down. The picture in Scotland is no better: there have been 13,900 applications, but only 7,000 have been declared eligible, and there are 169,000 households in Scotland that rely on heating oil, most of them in rural areas.

Instead of bleating about the mid-term elections or what the Budget can do for them, I think SNP Members should do what I have done: write to the Scottish Minister and ask for the eligibility rules for heating oil support to be expanded to take into account rurality, isolation and insularity, and for a reduction in the 500-litre minimum order, because some households cannot afford 500 litres. We call on the Scottish Government to extend the criteria to take in rurality and insularity, and to ensure that this money gets out the door.

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[Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)]

I congratulate the Member across the Moray Firth from me, the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone), on securing this debate.

In Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, 44% of homes are off the gas grid, and over 60% rely directly on oil central heating—more than triple the Scottish national average and nearly six times the UK average. Across Scotland as a whole, 142,000 households depend on heating oil to keep warm, yet while grid-connected homes have an energy price cap, which in itself is going to see a huge increase, off-grid households have no such protection.

Heating oil is an unregulated market, leaving consumers massively exposed to price volatility. When prices reached 123p per litre, an average household using 2,000 litres faced an annual bill of nearly £2,600—more than £869 higher than the main energy price cap, and that does not include electricity on top. A pensioner in Findhorn wrote to me after paying £1,205 for just 1,000 litres of kerosene, describing it as simply unsustainable. Pensioners with severe medical conditions report orders exceeding £900 per tank, forcing them to choose between heating their homes and buying basic essentials.

Powers over energy market regulation and consumer protection remain with Westminster, yet Ministers refuse to institute price caps or regulate minimum delivery thresholds. That underscores a fundamental truth: Scotland is an energy-rich nation, yet under Westminster control, forgotten homes are left out in the cold.

[Torcuil Crichton]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Graham Leadbitter]

No, I will finish.

With independence, Scotland would take full control over energy market regulation, price caps and consumer protection, preventing such a crisis from happening in the first place.

[Chris Kane (Stirling and Strathallan) (Lab)]

From homes and farms on the outskirts of Stirling to rural communities stretching towards Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, including Aberfoyle and north to Killin, and Crianlarich on the edge of the highlands, heating oil is not a lifestyle choice. It is the main source of warmth for thousands of households across my constituency, and many have contacted me, deeply worried about the sharp rise in heating oil prices and the impact on their household finances. Prices have more than doubled, placing enormous pressure on families, older people and some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

Understandably, there is anger and frustration—frustration that households that are reliant on heating oil do not enjoy the same protections as those connected to the gas and electricity networks, and anger that this long-standing disparity is yet to be properly addressed. There is also a wider challenge that goes beyond the immediate pressures of heating oil prices. It is about fuel poverty, the particular circumstances of rural communities and how we deliver a fair and practical transition to cleaner and more affordable heating.

The support available to households can be incredibly difficult to navigate. Across the four nations of the United Kingdom, we have different definitions of fuel poverty, different schemes and eligibility criteria, and a complicated mix of responsibilities among Governments and energy providers.

[Torcuil Crichton]

My hon. Friend is making a great speech. When it comes to delivering support, the system is complicated. In Scotland, it is centralised rather than delivered through councils, which means that less than half the £10 million of heating oil support has gone out the door to consumers. Does my hon. Friend agree that the money should have gone to local authorities and areas that would have more efficiently handled it?

[Chris Kane]

As a former council leader, I can say that councils, regardless of their political colour, are crying out for the Scottish Government to recognise exactly what can be done if local authorities are empowered to deliver good local services—it does not happen enough. I hope that the SNP Government in Edinburgh realise they can do more to empower local communities through local authorities.

How do the Government intend to work with the devolved Governments to deliver a more co-ordinated approach that recognises the particular challenges facing off-grid communities? We need targeted action that gives people greater protection today while helping them to move toward more affordable and sustainable heating in the future. Whether someone lives in Stirling, Aberfoyle or a remote home near Crianlarich, they deserve the same basic reassurance that they can afford to keep their home warm and will not be left behind in the energy transition.

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[Terry Jermy]

The Oxfordshire example is a huge shame. It seems that there are many examples around the country. There is money sat waiting in council bank accounts that could be put to use to support local people.

[Torcuil Crichton]

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is a devolutionary lesson here? When money is handed out from Departments, there must be transparency and accountability from devolved Governments such as that of Scotland, from councils and from local authorities?

[Terry Jermy]

I am sure that the Minister will reflect on my hon. Friend’s point. There absolutely needs to be learning from this process. This is a desperate situation. The money needed to be spent quickly and here we are, months later, with it sat in bank accounts, not being used.

Andrew, one of my constituents, lives in Welney, a very small village in my constituency. At the time of the crisis his wife was going through breast cancer. He was completely unaware that the help was available. We managed to get him £350-worth of support. I hope that, in her response, the Minister can talk more about what the Government can do to pressure councils to get that money out the door to help my constituents and those of other hon. Members in this Chamber.