Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to help ensure that long-term fuel prices do not contribute to inflation.

To date, higher inflation has been pushed up by global pressures, such as the economic recovery from Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, supply chain bottlenecks and restricted access to oil has increased the cost of fuel.

At Spring Statement 2022 in response to high fuel prices, the government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. This is the largest cash-terms cut across all fuel duty rates at once, ever, and is only the second time in 20 years that main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23.