Welsh Conservative Shadow Rural Affairs Minister and farmer Andrew RT Davies has called on the Government to introduce a rural fuel duty relief scheme covering communities in Wales.
Mr Davies pointed out Treasury modelling shows a sparsity premium of between 20-60% often applies to the delivery of rural services.
He said help with the price of fuel will go a long way to relieving that pressure.
Mr Davies criticised a “tone deaf” social media post by prime minister Andy Burnham, in which he boasted of introducing an interactive tool on web-based service Google Maps that advertises petrol prices.
He told Government to use the tools at its disposal to ease the pressure in the upcoming budget.
Mr Davies said, “People in rural areas are facing huge financial pressures, and a fuel duty relief scheme will help alleviate it.
“Rural communities face a sparsity premium of anywhere between 20 and 60 percent, according to the Government’s own figures.
“The prime minister should stop boasting on social media and use the tools at his disposal to ease the pressure on rural communities.”
As average UK diesel prices have crossed £2 per litre for the first time, Paul Holland, Managing Director for UK/ANZ Vehicle Payments at Corpay, said it was a significant moment for any business that depends on road transport.
“For fleet operators, the direction of travel has been clear for some time. Allstar’s September data showed average diesel prices already reaching 191.67p per litre, after the summer easing had been completely reversed.”
“The bigger challenge is the volatility. Businesses cannot control global energy markets or uncertainty around international diesel supply, but they can control how prepared they are for sudden changes in fuel costs.”
“That means having clear visibility over spend, understanding where costs are moving and being able to respond quickly rather than planning around an assumption that today’s price will hold.”
