Road Fuel Prices Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateLord Vaux of Harrowden
Main Page: Lord Vaux of Harrowden (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Lord Vaux of Harrowden's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(1 year, 4 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy noble friend makes a good point. For many rural areas, where filling stations perhaps do not get the throughput of customers, prices tend to be higher anyway. It is certainly something we want to keep an eye on to make sure that rural customers are not disadvantaged.
My Lords, the supermarket premium is apparently about 6p per litre, but that is nothing compared to the prices charged in motorway service stations, where it is often a further 18p to 20p above that. The noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, referred to the 6p as gouging. If that is gouging, what is the situation with motorway service stations and what are the Government going to do to fix it?
The noble Lord makes a very good point. Those of us who use motorway service stations are often baffled as to why fuel is so expensive in them. This is something that we will want to keep a close eye on; again, price transparency—that is, motorists having the ability to check what fuel might be available just by taking an exit and going to a service station that is relatively close to a motorway—would be much more beneficial.