SUPPORT URGED FOR FUEL DUTY AMENDMENT TO SAVE JOBS.

SUPPORT URGED FOR FUEL DUTY AMENDMENT TO SAVE JOBS.

LABOUR'S HIGH FUEL TAX POLICY HINDERING ECONOMIC RECOVERY

INDUSTRY SUPPORT SNP REGULATOR PLAN

SNP Treasury spokesperson Stewart Hosie MP has called on Labour, Lib/Dem and Tory MPs to get behind an amendment to the Budget Finance Bill for the introduction of a fuel duty regulator to protect jobs in the transport industry and help motorists and businesses.

The proposal, which will go before the Commons tomorrow (Wednesday) would result in an automatic freeze on fuel duty increases as oil prices rise with a parallel reduction in duty to match the extra revenue from VAT from higher pump prices. The proposal is backed by the Road Haulage Association.

SNP Treasury spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP, said:

“This amendment has what it takes to help protect jobs in the transport industry and help motorists and businesses, and I hope Scottish MPs of all parties will get behind these proposals.

“Hauliers, and motorists in rural areas, have been struggling with forecourt prices for some time, but the recession, and now Alistair Darling’s plans to increase fuel duty even further are the final straw.

“A road fuel regulator would see any extra cash raised from VAT on higher pump prices go straight back into an equivalent cut in fuel duty. It would give a real lifeline to Scotland’s hauliers who are unable to plan effectively for the future because they do not know what the price of fuel will be.”

SNP Westminster Transport spokesperson, Angus MacNeil MP, warned that a failure to take action would bring further job losses, and hinder economic recovery from recession.

Mr MacNeil said:

“Further increases in fuel prices would be disastrous in the grip of recession.

“The UK government should be easing the burden faced by business and households, and a fuel duty regulator mechanism would help do just that.

“Fuel duty hikes may temporarily boost empty Treasury coffers, but increases will actually hinder economic recovery.

“Hauliers and people in the Highlands and Islands have had their fill of Labour’s fuel duty increases. What Treasury Ministers in London forget is that for people in rural areas, a car is a necessity and not a luxury.

“It is more than ironic that Scotland, as one of world's largest oil producers, is hardest hit by Labour’s irresponsible fuel duty increases.”

A spokesperson for the Road Haulage Association said:

“At this challenging time the last thing the haulage industry in Scotland needs is an increase in costs. Moreso now that the cabotage regulations have been relaxed making it easier for European hauliers with lower costs to compete in the UK domestic market with potentially dire consequences for Scottish and other GB hauliers.

“The case for a regulator is as strong now as it ever was - there may have been a short lull in fuel price turbulence but this won't last. There are already signs that prices are on their way up again. At this desperate time for Scottish road hauliers - with numerous firms going bust - what is needed is a mechanism to ensure a measure of financial stability in these trying economic times. It must be remembered that fuel accounts for over 30% of a haulier's operating costs."