Dear Constituent,
Thank you for contacting me about fuel prices. Due to long standing diary commitments, unfortunately, I was unable to attend the events in Parliament on the 8th March and since then, we have seen the Chancellor deliver his Budget.
I understand drivers’ concerns regarding fuel prices and the cost of living. Therefore, I welcome the Chancellor’s decision to maintain fuel duty at current levels for the next 12 months, spending £5 billion on a tax cut worth £100 per driver this year. This will be achieved by keeping the 5p cut in fuel duty that was introduced last year, as well as cancelling the scheduled 11p increase in fuel duty.
This continues the policy of successive Conservative Chancellors dating back to 2011 of freezing fuel duty, and taken together with last year’s 5p cut, a typical driver will save £200 since the 5p cut was introduced. This is the thirteenth consecutive year in which fuel duty has been frozen.
To further support drivers, I welcome the Government’s boost for the budget for pothole repairs. The Chancellor has increased funding for pothole repair by £200 million this year, on top of the £2.5 billion pothole repair fund, which runs from 2020/21 – 202/25. The increase is expected to fix the equivalent of up to 4 million additional potholes across the country. This represents a total funding boost of just over £1.6 million on pothole repairs for Central Beds and Bedford Borough Councils,
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me and I am sorry that it has not been possible for me to respond before now.
Sincerely,
