Rachel Gilmour has urged the Treasury to consider extending a fuel duty relief scheme to Tiverton and Minehead, arguing that rising pump prices are hitting rural communities with few public transport alternatives.
The Tiverton and Minehead MP wrote to Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Daniel Tomlinson on Wednesday, March 18, asking him to consider whether the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme could be expanded to cover parts of her constituency.
In her letter, Rachel said the constituency was “exceptionally rural”, with residents relying on private vehicles for work, hospital visits and school journeys.
She said only two per cent of the area was categorised as urban land, according to the House of Commons Library, and argued this left many constituents particularly exposed to increases in fuel prices.
Rachel also said some parts of the constituency faced high levels of deprivation, with areas ranked in the top 20 per cent on the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. She said this did not take into account the under-representation of rural deprivation within those data sets.
In the letter, she said: “This area deserves attention from Government when it comes to matters of the rural fuel duty relief scheme, and I would welcome a meeting with you at the earliest convenience to discuss how my constituents can receive the same relief as those living in the postcodes where this scheme is already in effect.”
She added that fuel prices in some parts of the constituency were rising on a near-daily basis and described the issue as a matter of “great urgency” for her and her constituents.
In a public statement, Rachel said: “Across the country, a select set of postcodes are eligible for the Rural Fuel Duty Relief Scheme – but none of them are in Tiverton and Minehead.”
She added: “Today, I wrote to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, asking to meet with him about how the scheme might be extended to benefit my constituents.”
Rachel said the move “would be of immense value” to residents in what she described as an overwhelmingly rural constituency where public transport was “patchy at best”, adding that most people relied on cars for transport.
She also said: “With prices at the pump still rising after the US’s illegal actions in Iran, this move would be a welcome step in alleviating some of those cost pressures.”
Rachel said she looked forward to hearing from the minister and hoped to work with him on the issue in future.
