Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the level of regional disparity in fuel prices.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Competition and Markets Authority’s road fuel market study found, with the exception of Northern Ireland, differences in average prices between the regions of the UK are relatively small but there was much wider variation between rural and urban categories than between them.

The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal for fuel and has a consultation on the PumpWatch scheme which will require petrol-filling stations to share price information within 30 minutes of a change. This will drive down prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since the end of October 2021 following our work to bring transparency back to the market.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on reducing the cost of diesel.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.

The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal for fuel and has launched a consultation on the PumpWatch scheme which will require petrol-filling stations to share price information within 30 minutes of a change. This will drive down prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals. Road fuels prices are down over three consecutive months. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since mid-October 2021 following our work to bring transparency to the market.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to help reduce the price of fuel at petrol stations.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Road fuel prices are down for the second consecutive month. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since early October 2021 following our work to bring transparency to the market.

Today, we have launched a consultation which will require petrol stations to report real-time prices. This will mean drivers can compare prices, get the best deal, and prices will fall through greater competition.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require fuel retailers to publish price information.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Government will launch a consultation on the requirement for fuel retailers to provide up to date retail fuel price information shortly.

Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will extend the Government’s ability to establish and mandate participation in smart data schemes via regulations.

Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Bill, the Government will lay regulations using the smart data powers to set up the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish legislation on establishing a price monitoring body for fuel pricing and the requirement for retailers to provide real-time pump prices by site.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government announced on 15 November that the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) would undertake the ongoing road fuels price monitoring function. The Digital Markets, Competition & Consumers (DMCC) Bill was amended at Commons Report stage to give the CMA information-gathering powers for the monitoring function.

We will consult shortly on the statutory road fuel prices open data scheme and elements of the monitoring function not outlined in the DMCC Bill. Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Data Protection & Digital Information Bill, secondary legislation will be laid using Smart Data powers to establish the open data scheme.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the trend in the level of average fuel prices in the period between 25 October 2023 and 22 November 2023.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department publishes average fuel prices for the UK on a weekly basis. The average road fuel prices on 20 November in the UK were 150.5 pence per litre for petrol and 158.4 pence per litre for diesel. Both have decreased week-on-week, by -0.6 percent and –0.7 percent respectively) over the past month.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the difference between fuel prices (a) on and (b) not on motorways.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to him on 18 September to Question UIN 199076.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the average price for fuel was at (a) motorway stations and (b) other petrol and diesel stations in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Department publishes average fuel prices for the UK weekly, but the data is not collected at the granularity to determine prices for motorways compared to all other stations.

The Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) road fuel market study found drivers without access to fuel cards are paying more at motorway service stations than elsewhere. This is due to limited competitive pressures and limited opportunities for customers to observe prices and shop around. Differences in ‘fixed’ and ‘variable’ costs, such as rent, staff wages and fuel volume sold also cause price variations.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with fuel retailers on the level of fuel prices on motorways.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to him on 18 September to Question UIN 199075.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement legislation on the statutory fuel price transparency scheme.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has committed to consult on the design of the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices this autumn.

Part 3 of the Data Protection and Digital Information (No.2) Bill will extend the government’s ability to establish and mandate participation in smart data schemes via regulations.

The King’s Speech on 7 November confirmed that the Bill will carryover and resume passage this Parliamentary session. Following conclusion of the consultation process and Royal Assent of the Bill, the government will lay regulations using the smart data powers to set up the statutory open data scheme for road fuel prices.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of fuel prices at (a) supermarkets and (b) other fuel retailers on (i) haulage and (ii) transport industries.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department for Transport (DfT) is in regular contact with haulage and transport businesses but has not made an assessment in the form suggested.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of fuel prices at (a) supermarkets and (b) other fuel retailers on the cost of goods.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The major impact of road fuels prices on the cost of goods will be from the impact on supply chain logistics and distribution. These will be only one of many different sources of cost and the proportion will vary from one product to another. In general, large hauliers involved in these activities will not purchase fuel at the retail prices quoted at forecourts of either supermarkets or other retailers.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September to Question 198403 on Fuels: Prices, if she will publish a list of (a) the retailers that have signed up to share their prices and (b) which of those share their live prices.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published information on the voluntary road fuel prices scheme on their website here, which includes further information on the scheme, a list of participating retailers and retailer fuel price data.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many petrol retailers have joined the Competition and Markets Authority's interim voluntary fuel price data scheme.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Ten fuel retailers have signed up to share their prices every day. The Government strongly encourages fuel retailers to participate in this initiative and third-party data service providers to incorporate the data into their products.

Soon, all fuel retailers will have to release their prices by law, and we will consult on the design of the permanent fuel price reporting scheme this autumn. This will further increase the data available to third party price comparison apps and websites.

Found: Assumptions used on carbon and fossil fuels prices can be seen at chapter 2 of UEP . 28 Interim analysis