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Petrol price: rural areas to receive discount
Drivers living in remote rural areas could receive a discount on the price they pay for their petrol to help with spiralling driving costs.
Petrol prices have hit a fresh record every day since the start of the year Photo: PA
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor 4:46PM GMT 16 Jan 2011

It comes as the average price of petrol continues to edge upwards towards £6 a gallon, or £1.32 for a litre of unleaded.
Some petrol stations, notably those in the Northern Isles, are already charging £1.40 a litre and Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said these remote areas would soon be able to enjoy a discount on the duty they pay for petrol.
He said: "We recognise that this for many families is a serious issue. We are seeking to address that problem by looking at this idea of a fair fuel stabiliser, by taking steps to relieve the burden of fuel costs in the most remote communities."
The Government began talks with the European Commission last year to introduce a pilot scheme to give a discount on fuel duty of up to 5p per litre on petrol and diesel in the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and the Isles of Scilly. It can only be introduced if the Government can persuade the Commission that it would not break competition laws.
There is a precedent, however, because the French island of Corsica and Portuguese and Greek islands already enjoy fuel-tax discounts, approved by Brussels.
Mr Alexander, whose constituency of Inverness is in the Highlands, suggested this discount along with a fuel stabiliser was far more likely than a cancellation of the planned increase in fuel duty, due to take effect in April, which many campaigners are lobbying for.
Asked on the BBC Politics Show whether the April rise could be delayed Mr Alexander replied: "The proposal that we are considering is the one that has been put forward in the past which is the idea of the fair fuel stabiliser so that there is some sense that when prices rise the burden is shared."
But there were "complications" about a fuel stabiliser "not least to do with the revenue that we receive in the Treasury".
He added that due to the scale of the deficit "we can't just sacrifice income willy-nilly".

His comments were backed up by Chris Huhne, his fellow Lib Dem cabinet ministers, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, who argued Britain needed to be weaned off its reliance on fossil fuels.
He said: "Is there an easy answer in terms of saying in the long run we should cut fuel duty? Clearly, the answer to that is No, because if we look at the one developed country that has very low fuel duty – the US, where petrol and diesel prices are less than half of what they are here – what happens is that people get much more reliant on oil to fuel the economy and when the world oil price changes, there are far more bankruptcies and more repossessions of people's homes."

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said the coalition's failure to introduce a fuel duty stabiliser was a Conservative broken promise.
Though Mr Alexander said a fuel duty stabiliser, designed to drop the level of duty when the price at fuel increases, involved "complications", he reiterated that the Government was looking at plans about how best to introduce the idea.
An increasing number of companies and public bodies over the weekend said they were suffering from the high price of petrol. The transport manager of Northamptonshire's Police Federation said that his force was trying to cut down on policemen using patrol cars, in order to save on petrol costs.
Bregbies Traynor, the insolvency specialist, gave warning that 5,344 haulage and logistics companies were struggling with their finances.

Bregbies Traynor, the insolvency specialist, gave warning that 5,344 haulage and logistics companies were struggling with their finances.

I cannot see the rural thing flying either, if done by lowering the tax at remote filling stations said stations will either be:

You could of course drive to the station and use the train ,if you can now afford the car park charges .

Indeed. As an aside there, the train companies never tire of telling us that their 'arm and a leg' train fares are still cheaper than using a car. That may be, but only if you take 'using a car' as being the total cost of car ownership, maintenance and fuel. So it's fine for people who don't own or drive cars, but not for those who do, and who arguably comprise the majority of economically-active people.