Fuel duty freeze is just ‘tinkering around the edges’ of changes needed to UK transport system, says IPPR

IPPR has reacted to measures on motoring announced in today’s autumn statement by Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor of the exchequer. 

Maya Singer-Hobbs, IPPR senior research fellow, said: 
 
“The Chancellor spoke of helping families in the long term but decided to lock them into unaffordable transport costs. Maintaining the fuel duty freeze for another year at a cost of £5bn does nothing to help those who do not drive, who are likely to be on the lowest income, and disproportionately benefits the wealthiest drivers.  

“If the average driver is £50 better off at the end of this year as a result of this, the lowest earning motorists see a fraction of this benefit - just £22 according to the Social Market Foundation. 

“Our own analysis found that drivers on the lowest income are spending more than a fifth of their income on running a car. The fuel duty freeze is just tinkering around the edges of the costs our transport system places on households. It also drives up carbon dioxide emissions and makes meeting our climate commitments even harder. 

“This budget has been a missed opportunity to invest in affordable alternatives to driving, despite the huge appetite across the country for investment in public transport and desire from many to travel more actively.”