§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport by how much revenue to the Exchequer would increase if the fuel duty rebate was abolished.
§ Mr. PortilloIn 1988–89 some £158 million of fuel duty rebate was paid to local bus operators.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of the abolition of fuel duty rebate on(a) bus fares and (b) bus services in sparsely populated rural areas.
§ Mr. PortilloWe have estimated in 1988 that, assuming all else stayed the same in the local bus industry, the abolition of fuel duty rebate would result in either an increase in fares of some 13 per cent., supposing the whole effect was on fares, or a decrease in bus miles of some 12 per cent., supposing the whole effect was on bus miles. In practice it is likely that there would be some combination of these two effects. No separate estimate has been made of the effect on bus services in sparsely populated rural areas.