Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to support people living in rural areas with limited public transport links with the potential financial impact of increases in fuel duty.
People living in rural areas often have greater distances to travel to access essential services, employment, education and other social and recreational activities. We know that this can make it more costly and time consuming for rural communities.
As announced in the King’s Speech, the Government will introduce a Buses Bill later this parliamentary session, which will put decision-making into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas across England. This will allow local areas to determine how best to design their bus services so that they have control over routes and schedules.
The Government has made a commitment that all policy decision-making should be rural proofed. Defra leads on rural proofing, but individual departments are responsible for ensuring that their policy decision-making delivers for rural communities.
Decisions on tax policy, including fuel duty rates, are made by the Chancellor at fiscal events.
The Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme was introduced in 2011 to provide a 5p reduction to motorists buying fuel in certain areas. The areas included in the scheme demonstrate certain characteristics such as: pump prices much higher than the UK average, remoteness leading to high fuel transport costs from refinery to filling station, and relatively low sales meaning that retailers cannot benefit from bulk discounts.