Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Maynard Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Whatever the worthiness of the efforts of the council to which the hon. Gentleman refers, unfortunately it has absolutely nothing whatever to do with Question 1.

[Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)]

2. What assessment he has made of the effect of freezing fuel duty on the price of petrol.

[The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr George Osborne)]

Thanks to this Government’s action, pump prices are 13p a litre lower than they would have been under the previous Government’s plans. Provided we can find the savings to pay for it, my intention is to freeze fuel duty for the rest of this Parliament.

[Paul Maynard]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. The cost of fuel is of great concern to many of my constituents. If he can freeze the price of fuel for the remainder of this Parliament, how much cheaper will petrol be, come the next election?

[Mr Osborne]

If we are able to freeze petrol prices for the rest of this Parliament, the price will 20p a litre lower than it would have been if we had stuck with the plans that the shadow Chancellor advocated at the last general election. That would mean, as my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary was just reminding us, a saving of over £10 every time people filled up their average car. That is what this Government are doing; by fixing the public finances, we are able to help people.