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Finance Bill

The right hon. Gentleman raises an important question about the definitions, to which I will come, but I should like to outline my argument first and then address his point. The justification for the new clause is that in those remote areas where a car is most necessary, where public transport is lacking and long distances are the norm, fuel prices are far higher than they are elsewhere. As of yesterday, the average price for a litre of unleaded petrol in the UK was 96.9p. In Aviemore, in my constituency, it was 99.9p. In Stromness, in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael), it was 102.9p. In Lerwick, in Shetland, it was 105.4p, a difference of 10p compared with the UK average. In Dalwhinnie, in my constituency, the average price was 10l.1p. In Thurso, the average was 102.3p, showing a range of differences in the sorts of areas that might well be caught within the scope of the new clause, of between 3p and 10p a litre.