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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the fuel industry in (a) urban and (b) rural areas to ensure consumers benefit from lower prices.

The retail fuels market is subject to UK competition law under the Competition and Markets Authority. A competitive market ensures that road fuel prices stay as low as possible. The Government and its regulatory bodies periodically conduct in-depth reviews to explore issues such as differences in local and regional price. This framework delivers below the European average for pre-tax prices for both petrol and diesel in the UK.

The Government is therefore confident that, for the UK road fuels sector, competitive markets ensure that consumers get a fair deal and that road fuel prices stay as low as possible.