PETROL POVERTY

That this House notes new research from the RAC Foundation showing that 800,000 homes spend more than a quarter of their income on running a car; further notes that the data based on Office for National Statistics figures show that the poorest 10 per cent of car-owning households in the UK are mired in transport poverty and are spending at least 27 per cent of their disposable income on buying and running a vehicle; is concerned that of a total weekly expenditure of £167, those in the poorest car-owning households see £44 go on car costs; concludes that high fuel prices are a poverty trap and that fuel duty is a toxic tax; and welcomes what the Government has done to cut the cost of filling up the family car but urges them to go further in the forthcoming Budget and to cancel the planned September rise in fuel duty.