Transport: Fuel Prices

Lord Cormack Excerpts

Thursday 24th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

In answer to the noble Lord’s question, we believe that the best guarantee of a good deal for consumers is an open and competitive market. I cannot answer it any more clearly than that.

[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, could my noble friend answer the question that the noble Lord just asked? Are the high prices, which the noble Lord, Lord Steel, outlined, in any way attributable to the franchise costs charged by government?

[Baroness Wilcox]

I do not have the answer for that directly. I will go back and get the result, but I have to repeat that the Office of Fair Trading would be very quick to see if there were difficulties on either side in this argument.