Commons fuel duty debate secured

Following concerted industry pressure from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and its partners in the Fair Fuel UK Campaign (FFUK), a formal debate on fuel duty will be heard in the House of Commons.

Fair Fuel UK's government e-Petition, which was backed by Robert Halfon MP, reached 100,000 last Friday, the threshold by which a parliamentary debate is triggered. Yesterday the Back Bench Business Committee granted the FFUK a 'main chamber' debate.

Theo de Pencier, FTA's CEO, said: “Our e-Petition shows the depth of feeling and support for an overhaul of government fuel duty policy. It's not just motorists feeling the pain at the pumps; businesses are being forced to make redundancies or face insolvency in the face of higher transport costs.

“This issue goes beyond party politics; it's about keeping the UK on the road to recovery. The price we pay for fuel has a huge impact on business competitiveness, with diesel accounting for 40 per cent of the costs of operating a lorry.

“Thanks to the unswerving support of Mr Halfon and the thousands of individuals who took the time to put their name to our e-Petition we can now bring this cause to the very heart of government and towards a fairer deal on fuel.”