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Finance Bill

Absolutely. Another factor in the sort of areas that my hon. Friend and I represent is that income is well below the national average, and the result is that the vehicles that people use are often older and less efficient. A statistic—it might not still be correct—has suggested that the number of cars per household was higher in Somerset than almost anywhere else in the country, and that those cars were also the oldest, because people generally kept one or two old bangers to get them to their various destinations. As income in rural areas is low, the price of fuel makes up a much higher proportion of weekly outgoings. People are therefore hit by an additional burden every time fuel duties or prices go up. Such rises have a disproportionate effect on the rural population and on the way in which people in rural areas carry out their business. There is also an indirect effect: it costs more to send delivery vans to local shops and stores. In every way, there is an economic disadvantage that has the price of fuel as a major determinant. The amendment, to which I am a cosignatory, is an attempt to address that basic economic injustice.