Island fule discount by spring

A MOTOR fuel duty discount for people in remote island communities will be in place by spring, a Liberal Democrat MP said yesterday.

The UK government scheme is intended to deliver a 5p per litre duty discount on petrol and diesel for the Western and Northern Isles, islands in the Clyde and Isles of Scilly.

Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael said: “I am confident on the basis of discussions I had with Treasury ministers that it will be available to everyone by the start of the spring.”

SNP MP Angus MacNeil said he was “impatient for this to start ... It’s affecting many people and the price of fuel is very high”.