Fuel prices have damaged businesses and communities.

The Freight Transport Association has warned the government to heed the advice of its own MPs and overhaul its fuel duty policy following a House of Commons debate on 15 November.

During the four-hour debate Chloe Smith, the Economic Under Secretary to the Treasury, heard how high fuel prices have damaged businesses and communities, restricted economic growth, hurt motorists and stoked inflation and unemployment across the country. MPs told how hauliers and businesses in their constituencies have suffered at the hands of the highest rates of fuel duty in the EU and struggled to remain competitive and solvent, citing evidence from the FTA and other organisations.

Calls for substantive measures, including scrapping the fuel duty rises planned for 2012 and introducing a fuel duty stabiliser, were made from either side of the House and at the end of the debate the ‘ayes’ had it in a unanimous show of approval for the motion.

However, Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned vehicle operators not to expect a cut in fuel duty.  Speaking to the Daily Telegraph he said: “There are a lot of ideas going round at the moment on cutting taxes and increasing spending, and the government isn’t in the position to do a lot of this. We’ve got a very big budget deficit and the top priority is getting that down.”

“We’ve got to look at this along with a lot of other things. I don’t want to raise people’s expectations because our budget position isn’t where we can make a lot of freebies available.”