Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reducing VAT on (a) petrol and (b) diesel.

VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to the vast majority of goods and services, including petrol and diesel. While there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.

All taxes are kept under reivew, but there are no plans to cut VAT on petrol and diesel. Cutting VAT on road fuel from 20% to 5% would come at a significant cost to the Exchequer and such a relief would not be targeted as it would also benefit high income households that do not need support.