Scotland has the UK’s best petrol supply according to average fuel stock levels which were recorded at the end of the day on Sunday.
New Government figures show filling stations in Britain had an average fuel stock level of 25% on Sunday, down from 33% before the crisis, however Scotland had an above average level of how full filling station storage tanks were.
The average fuel stock in Scotland was ahead of all other regions at 35%, followed closely by North-east England which saw filling station storage tanks at an average of 33%.
Fuel shortages continue across England with the South-east and London hardest hit with average fuel stock levels of 16% and 18% respectively.
Fuel retailers claim “inept prioritisation” of deliveries is to blame for continued shortages in London and the South East.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), said only 71% of filling stations in the region have both petrol and diesel compared with 90% in the rest of Britain.
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He warned that fuel supplies are being sent to “the wrong parts of the country”.
Mr Madderson claimed independent retailers are being denied access to information from discussions between the Government, hauliers and oil companies.
“We do not know when the deliveries are arriving and we do not know how they are being prioritised,” he said.
“The return to normal fuel volumes continues to be blighted by the current inept prioritisation policy.”
Mr Madderson described the Government’s decision to suspend competition law to allow the fuel industry to share information as “a failed experiment”.
He added: “It is now time for the Government to step back, reimpose competition law, and restore market disciplines so that ordinary business incentives drive the fuel to the filling stations which need it.”
Average stock levels in Britain sank to 15% on Saturday September 25, the day after panic buying began.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said that on Friday September 24, fuel sales were up 80% compared with normal levels.
Sales remained “substantially above” average until the middle of the following week when they “began to trend back to normal levels”, the BEIS added.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said shortages have been “most keenly felt by smaller retailers who don’t tend to buy fuel as frequently”.
He added: “Following the recent rush on the pumps, the vast majority of retailers needed to replenish their stocks at the same time which put enormous stress on supply chains.”
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