HL Deb 30 July 2002 vol 638 c173WA
Lord Berkeley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What would be the expected increase in demand for (a) lorries and (b) cars if the duty and tax on fuel were reduced to zero. [HL5604]

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston

It is not possible to predict accurately the effect of such a large change on the demand for cars or lorries. Our estimates of the effect of fuel price changes on car ownership are based on past experience of much smaller changes in such costs. We make forecasts of lorry traffic but not of the numbers of lorries.