§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral statement by the Economic Secretary of 27 April 1999,Official Report, columns 241–46, if he will set out the basis on which the cost of exempting commercial vehicles from the fuel duty escalator was calculated; and what definition of commercial vehicles was used. [83103]
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§ Ms Hewitt[holding answer 5 May 1999]: Slightly under 50 per cent. of diesel is used in goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and this is the definition on which the figures are based. The amount of diesel used by these vehicles was calculated using total distances travelled by such vehicles in 1997 and the average miles per gallon achieved by rigid and articulated vehicles. However, the definition could go much wider to include all diesel vehicles used by businesses.