Spring Statement: West businesses say fuel cut 'not enough'

Motorists have been hit by record pump prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine

The chancellor's cut to fuel duty has been branded a "drop in the ocean" by a business expert in the West.

Rishu Sunak cut 5p off the tax on a litre of petrol or diesel in his Spring Statement on Wednesday.

Ian Mean, Gloucestershire director for Business West, said the government should have done more to help motorists.

Petrol station manager Rachael King said the 5p cut was welcome, but "not enough".

It was one of a range of measures unveiled by Mr Sunak, who was under pressure from across the UK political spectrum to ease the current cost of living crisis.

He said the reduction, which will last until next March, was "the biggest cut to all fuel duty rates ever".

Business West director for Gloucestershire Ian Mean said the government could have done more

Ms King, forecourt manager at John Stayte Services in Whitminster, Gloucestershire, said: "I wish it was 10p, which will help our customers a lot more. At the moment they really, really need it.

"It [5p cut] is great but it's not enough."

She also said the squeeze on peoples' finances meant they were not spending as much on other goods.

"We rely on customers coming in and buying other things. If they're spending all their money on fuel, they can't buy those luxury items," she added.

Fuel station manager Rachael King said she had hoped the cut would be 10p

Mr Mean said the fuel savings were "well intentioned" but amounted to "a drop in the ocean".

He said: "I think many haulage firms around here will be saying it's far, far too small. It should have been at least 10p.

"In the last few weeks the cost of fuel has gone up 25 per cent."

'Haulage industry is key'

Moreton Cullimore, director of family firm Cullimore Group which runs a fleet of transport lorries from its Gloucestershire base, said haulage firms should have been given a special tax cut, because so many items were transported around the country by road.

"Ninety seven per cent of the food and everyday goods we use are transported on the back of a truck," he said.

"Each tank has increased in cost by about £400. Today's reduction of 5p of the tax represents about £40 reduction per tank."

• Living standards "plummet"

• How statement affects you

The RAC said the 5p cut would take £3.30 off the cost of filling a typical 55-litre family car.

The Treasury said the fuel duty cut was worth £2.4bn and means a one-car family will save £100 on average over the next 12 months.

The average van driver will save £200, it said, while hauliers will save £1,500.