Badenoch paying "over £6m a year" in delivery surcharges
Kate Forbes MSP has hit out at “scandalous” delivery charges to the Highlands, after new figures revealed her constituents are thought to be paying more than £6m extra a year compared to the rest of the UK.
According to new research from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), those living in her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency pay an estimated £6.2m more.
The constituency figure makes up 16 per cent of the total cost to Scotland (£40.1m), and the figure for the entire Highlands and Islands is just over £28m.
The Office for National Statistics internet access survey for 2019 shows that 82 per cent of all adults have bought goods or service online over the past 12 months.
Ms Forbes has continually called on the UK Government to act and end rip-off charges for Highlanders.
She said: “The scandal of retailers charging over £6 million to customers in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has never looked like such a rip-off.
“That means that customers who purchase goods online this Christmas have paid over the odds and lined the pockets of retailers and delivery firms who think nothing of over-charging Highland consumers.
“It is, and always has been, an absolute disgrace and it is long overdue for the UK Government to act.
“If the Scottish Government had the powers to do something about surcharges, they would have long ago and it’s about time the UK Government lifted a finger about this.
“More than £6 million across Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch could have been spent in the local economy and made an enormous difference.”
