Treasury pledges to review FFUK figures
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TREASURY MINISTER Danny Alexander (pictured left) has committed to studying FairFuelUK’s (FFUK) economic report, which showed that the planned 3ppl duty rise in January would result in 35,000 job losses and reduce GDP growth by 0.1%.
The pledge was made on Monday (29 October) during a meeting at the Treasury attended by FFUK, Quentin Willson (pictured right), the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA).
“The minister set out his genuine desire to look at the report and emphasised that he and his team are interested in engaging with us,” said FFUK founder Peter Carroll. “We then had an hour with three senior Treasury officials who agreed to take the report away to study it.” The research, carried out by the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR), also revealed that the planned fuel duty hike would only bring in half the expected extra tax revenue for the government – £800m instead of £1.5bn. However, the research showed that about 70,000 new jobs would be created and GDP would be boosted by 0.2% if the government was to cut fuel duty by 3ppl instead.
RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning said: “We left the Treasury team in no doubt as to the plight of both the motorist and the haulier, and it is vital that there isn’t an increase in January.” FTA MD of policy and communication James Hookham agreed: “This is high-quality research that showed a cut in duty would put money back into the pockets of consumers and businesses.”