Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
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.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
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.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department plans to mitigate the potential impact of high inflation on defence programmes.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Inflation is a pressing concern for Defence and we are taking steps to actively manage it.
A number of our existing controls continue to shield us from the full impact of rising prices. We have used pricing mechanisms where inflation risk sits with suppliers to prevented higher prices for our contacts being passed on to us.
We have also engaged in the forward purchasing of fuels, utilities and foreign exchange, which have provided stability in these recently volatile markets.
Furthermore, we have implemented changes to commercial policy to manage inflation such as making greater use of index-linked fixed price contracts and engaging with our main suppliers to discuss how inflation will be treated in future contracts.
Finally, we have worked closely with the Treasury to support the halving of inflation.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to introduce the Alternative Fuel Payments scheme this winter to support consumers not connected to the gas grid who rely on alternative fuels to heat their homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Oil prices have fallen from their 2022 peak and there are currently no plans for the Alternative Fuel Payment scheme to be renewed for Winter 2023/24. However, the Government will continue to monitor the situation and will keep our options under review.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
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.
Asked by: John Redwood (Conservative - Wokingham)
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 a comparative assessment of UK electricity prices compared to those charged in the United States.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Domestic and industrial electricity prices for countries that are members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) are published in Quarterly Energy Prices tables 5.5.1 and 5.3.1 respectively.
Table 5.5.1: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/international-domestic-energy-prices and Table 5.3.1: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/international-industrial-energy-prices
Average electricity prices in the United States are among the lowest in the IEA, below those in the UK, and they have been one of the 5 countries with the lowest prices across the IEA since the mid-2000s. Electricity prices vary by locality in the United States based on the availability of power plants and fuels, local fuel costs, and pricing regulations.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
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.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
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.