Trade groups welcome fuel duty freeze

Transport trade associations have praised the Treasury’s decision, announced in last month’s Budget, to continue its long-standing freeze on fuel duty.

Alex Veitch, general manager of public policy at Logistics UK, said the organisation’s members were grateful for the policy’s continuation.

“At a time when many businesses are yet to open up fully, or to see the first signs of recovery, another charge to already fragile balance sheets could have been catastrophic for the organisations which are at the heart of every element of the
economy,” he said.

Road Haulage Association (RHA) chief executive Richard Burnett added: “This has been a Budget that is good for business and good for people.

“The Chancellor’s announcement of a fuel duty freeze for the 11th year in succession comes as very good news for the hundreds of thousands of commercial vehicle operators who have been struggling as a result of the pandemic.”

Both organisations also welcomed the extension of the government’s furlough scheme until the end of September.