Fuel Prices

Debate between Andrew Bingham and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Westminster Hall

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Turner. I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thirsk and Malton (Miss McIntosh) on securing this debate. Much of what needs to be said has already been said, but I would like to make some quick points on rurality.

There are certain goods that can come only from rural areas. I have alluded to stone from quarries, and there is also milk from our farms. Such goods have to go into urban centres, so the people who transport them are based in rural areas. Big haulage contractors are based in High Peak because that is where the product is. The impact on small businesses based in rural constituencies has already been mentioned, and, if we are not careful, the price of fuel will drive such businesses away from rural areas into urban areas, thereby accelerating the demise of rural towns.

The Ferodo brake linings factory is in my village of Chapel-en-le-Frith. Shops in and around the village exist on the back of that factory and the people who work in it. If we drive such companies into urban areas, our small towns will suffer.

The Countryside Alliance has produced statistics showing that people who live in rural areas spend a higher percentage of their income on fuel because of the lack of public transport. Since I was elected to this place, I have been impressed by the transport in London. There are buses and the tube—there are various ways of getting about that are not available to people in rural areas. The bus I use to come here runs every six minutes, but buses in rural areas run every half hour or less, which makes getting around more difficult. Consequently, people spend more of their income on private transport. I believe that the average rural resident travels about 8,700 miles on private transport, whereas it is about 5,000 miles for an urban resident. That equates to an extra £200 in tax in a year.

[Ian Paisley]

One bus in my constituency comes once a day, and another bus—a charity bus—comes once a week.

[Andrew Bingham]

I am sure that that is right, and I am sure it is the same in other areas. That brings me to considering the solution. I know that the Chancellor is looking at the issue—he said so in the House—and I understand that he is in a very difficult position because of the financial implications. We have spoken about concessions for rural areas. My concern with that is defining what is rural and what is not. I have various small towns and villages in my constituency, such as Glossop, which shares a boundary with Greater Manchester. It may not be considered rural, but one can go a few miles up the road to a little village called Sparrowpit which is very rural. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Simon Hart), I worry that a line will be drawn and people will fall on the wrong side of it.

The answer is the fair fuel stabiliser. I know it is a difficult issue, and I have great sympathy with the Chancellor and the Treasury team who have to determine how a stabiliser would be introduced. Perhaps we need to hold off on the duty rise that is due while we try to get it working. Many of us here are standing up for rural areas. I do not think that people in urban areas really understand how big an issue this is to those in rural areas who fill their car up perhaps two or three times a week if they have to drive here, there and everywhere, and how much that impacts on the household budget.

I thank you for giving me an opportunity to speak, Mr Turner, even though I had not notified you earlier.