Fuel Subsidy Being Considered For Rural Areas

Friday, 29. October 2010

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If you live in a rural area you could soon be getting more miles for your money as there are plans afoot to introduce a subsidy of 5p per litre in certain out of town areas. European competition rules mean that the proposal would have to receive backing from Brussels. Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said motorists in the most remote parts of the country were being hit by a triple whammy of high fuel costs, poor public transport and having to travel long distances. The reduction in rural duty had actually been a pre-election pledge by the Liberal Democrats and the Tories had a pre-election pledge to introduce a ‘fair fuel stabiliser’ which would see fuel duty cut when oil prices rise. At the moment the most extreme fuel price is on the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast, with the cost of petrol currently standing at £1.60 per litre. It’s a question of watch this space until we hear back from the EU. By Graham Hill