IMPOVERISHED households in rural Scotland have been “lumbered with a rural premium” during the cost-of-greed crisis, MPs warn.

Westminister’s Scottish affairs committee has challenged both UK and Scottish governments to act, after their investigations uncovered evidence that rural communities routinely paid more for life’s basics such as energy, food and transport than their counterparts in urban Scotland.

Noting that the highest rates of fuel poverty in Scotland were found in the Western Isles, Highlands, and Argyll and Bute, its report concluded that government “energy support provided was not sufficiently rural-proofed — it did not account for additional costs required for many households in rural Scotland.”

The committee report also slammed the “ongoing failure of the Scottish government to deliver two lifeline ferries which are, so far, six years late and £250 million overbudget,” which has both hit supplies to remote communities and their crucial tourist income in recent years.

Scottish affairs committee chairman, SNP’s Pete Wishart, said: “During the cost-of-living crisis, people living in remote parts of Scotland have found themselves in a perfect storm of poorly-insulated, high-energy usage homes with an extended journey to local amenities and food shopping bills off the charts.

“Schemes implemented by both the UK and Scottish governments have been welcomed in large parts of Scotland, but the reality is these households have been lumbered with a rural premium that’s hasn’t been adequately addressed by state support.”

Mairi Gougeon, SNP cabinet secretary for rural affairs, land reform and islands, responded: “We agree with the Scottish affairs committee which confirms what we have been saying for some time.

“Thanks to Brexit, and UK government-made cost-of-living pressures, there is a rural premium.

“It does cost more to live and work in rural Scotland, especially for energy and food.”

Westminster was contacted for comment.