THE government is facing further calls cut fuel duty as the war in the Middle East continues to drive up oil prices.
Caritas Jersey chief executive Patrick Lynch has now said the charity had “real concerns” about the situation’s potential impact – particularly on Islanders already struggling to make ends meet – amid the rises in heating oil and forecourt costs stemming from the US-Israeli campaign against Iran.
It comes a day after Island Energy confirmed that gas prices are set to increase temporarily with around a 5% increase expected on an average home’s tariff as the ongoing conflict continues to impact the cost of living globally.
The International Energy Agency has documented what it described as “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market” after the conflict affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which would normally carry around a fifth of the world’s oil.
The United Nations International Maritime Organisation has called for safe passage for vessels in the region, stating it is “deeply concerned about the wellbeing and safety of seafarers affected by the ongoing situation”.
Noting the impact of petrol price hikes on the cost of living, Mr Lynch said: “We have real concerns about those people who generally are on the minimum wage or low wages.
“And we can see, as happened before [with] similar events like the initial invasion of Ukraine, when these prices went up that resulted in a huge spike in food bank usage at that time.”
Jersey Consumer Council chairman Carl Walker recently highlighted that there were “levers available to the government which could be tweaked under ministerial approval”, such as a reduction in fuel duty, “to ease the pain for Islanders”.
Mr Walker is one of four panellists due to appear at a Question Time event about the cost of living hosted by All Island Media this evening.
On Monday, Deputy Farnham told the JEP that he had recently chaired a meeting of the Emergencies Council – as ministers continued “monitoring how changes in oil prices are beginning to affect the cost of living”.
Mr Lynch said: “We would echo the call for them [government] to look to assist people or have plans in place should the worst happen.
“We have always called for a reduction in fuel duty going back to the last election.
“That will certainly be something we would ask for now and will certainly be asking for during the election campaign.”
