New Clause 8 — Rural Fuel Discount Scheme

Part of Orders of the Day – in the House of Commons at 7:15 pm on 25 June 2007.

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Photo of Paul Goodman Paul Goodman Shadow Minister (Childcare), Treasury 7:15, 25 June 2007

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is correct, and I think that he made that point in the same debate last year.

Last year, the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey attempted to alleviate such problems by proposing lower rates of fuel duty in remote areas. The Liberals also tabled an amendment to raise band G vehicle excise duty rates in general, but in some areas to cut all bands, for what were then old cars—including band G cars, which are the most polluting—and in other areas to cut all bands except band G, for what were then new cars. As Members who were present for last year's debate will recall, those amendments did not stand up to examination in every detail. In effect, that was acknowledged by the hon. Gentleman when he proposed the new scheme. It is perhaps significant that the Liberals have not retabled the VED cut proposal at all this year; they did retable the lower fuel duty rate proposal, but in Committee, not on Report. It was significant that Julia Goldsworthy said in Committee that she was doing that "to highlight a principle", which suggested to me that she did not have any great confidence in its practicality.

The hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey has proposed, essentially, a coupon scheme, but he described it as a kind of swipe-card scheme. Under the scheme, people who live in remote rural areas and drive eligible vehicles would be entitled to cash in their coupons or swipe their cards at qualified retail outlets for a rebate. That raises several questions.

To return to last year's debate: is there an accepted definition of a remote rural area? Stewart Hosie famously pointed out last year—in Committee, I think—that there are several definitions. Certainly, were the proposal to be progressed, the 3 per cent. figure would have to be considered closely. Once that problem is settled—I shall assume that it is capable of being settled—there is the question of who should qualify, which the new clause as drafted does not make clear. Is it right, for example, that a multimillionaire with a second home in a remote rural area should be able to get a discount, whereas a widow dependent on benefits in an urban area should not? Once that is settled, there is the question of what vehicles should qualify. If band G vehicles, for example, are not to qualify—on paper, there is a case for them not qualifying—will our multimillionaire driving a band F vehicle get a discount, while, say, a farmer on a lower income driving a band G vehicle does not?