Renewed calls for fuel duty regulator

Road hauliers are considering a 'mass lobby' of Parliament to show support for the introduction of a fuel duty regulator.

The proposal for a regulator was put to MPs on 15 May by Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Stewart Hosie, after calls from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and Road Haulage Association (RHA). Under the mooted system, higher than expected VAT revenue caused by rising fuel prices would be used to lower duty on fuels, preventing an increasing tax burden as fuel costs rise.

Commenting on Mr Hosie's undertaking to bring the proposal to the Commons at Report Stage, RHA chief executive Roger King said "We are delighted that this amendment is being debated and we will be supporting it to the utmost."

Last week, FSB national chairman John Wright said: "A mechanism which automatically uses extra oil tax revenue to reduce fuel taxes would be an efficient, effective and fair way of delivering some relief to motorists of all kinds."

Environmentalists have reacted strongly to the proposal, however. "Calling for lower fuel duty just shows how out of touch these organisations are with the need to tackle climate change," said Richard George of the Campaign for Better Transport.

"The number of small goods vehicles on our roads is skyrocketing - up 730,000 in the past decade - and the government revealed yesterday that the cost of motoring fell 4% since 2005," he told More Than Business News.

"Maintaining fuel duty is one way that we continue to live a real world with travel choices rather than a world choked by vans and lorries."