Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a pumpwatch body to monitor petrol and diesel prices to ensure that the prices motorists pay reflect changes in the wholesale oil price.

The Government believes that it is essential for consumers to get a fair deal when they visit the pumps. The Department actively monitors fuel prices, and its analysis shows that both rises and falls in the price of crude oil reach the pumps within seven weeks. An open and competitive market is the best way to keep prices low; a new regulator is not necessary. If people have evidence of anti-competitive practices in the fuel supply sector, this should be passed onto the Competition Markets Authority.