Pressure pays off as long-awaited House of Commons fuel duty debate is secured, says FTA
Following concerted industry pressure from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and its partners in the Fair Fuel UK Campaign (FFUK), a formal debate on fuel duty will be heard in the House of Commons. Fair Fuel UK's government e-Petition, which was backed by Robert Halfon MP, reached 100,000 last Friday, the threshold by which a parliamentary debate is triggered. Yesterday the Back Bench Business Committee granted the FFUK a 'main chamber' debate. Theo de Pencier, FTA's CEO, said: "Our e-Petition shows the depth of feeling and support for an overhaul of government fuel duty policy. It's not just motorists feeling the pain at the pumps; businesses are being forced to make redundancies or face insolvency in the face of higher transport costs. "This issue goes beyond party politics; it's about keeping the UK on the road to recovery. The price we pay for fuel has a huge impact on business competitiveness, with diesel accounting for 40 per cent of the costs of operating a lorry. "Thanks to the unswerving support of Mr Halfon and the thousands of individuals who took the time to put their name to our e-Petition we can now bring this cause to the very heart of government and towards a fairer deal on fuel."