Rising fuel prices forcing firms to freeze recruitment and vehicle upgrades, according to FairFuelUK and FTA survey

Rising fuel costs are forcing logistics businesses to freeze recruitment, lay-off staff and delay vehicle upgrades, according to a new study from FairFuelUK (FFUK) and FTA.

FFUK’s March 2019 study into fuel prices revealed that 19% of 17,231 respondents said rising fuel prices had forced them to freeze staff recruitment.

A further nine per cent said the rise had forced them to lay-off staff.

Eighty percent of respondents said they were planning to keep their commercial vehicle for the next 12 months, and 52% said rising fuel prices influenced this decision.

Pointing to the shadow chancellor’s support for an increase in fuel duty, voiced recently, both organisations called on the Labour Party to reconsider its approach.

Christopher Snelling, FTA head of UK Policy, said: “It is of vital importance that John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, understands how linked the rate of fuel duty is to the performance of the economy – increasing fuel duty directly adds to the cost of doing business in the UK.

“Escalating fuel costs are already forcing logistics businesses to freeze recruitment, lay-off staff and delay vehicle upgrades, as illustrated in FFUK’s study; a rise in fuel duty would only exasperate this issue."

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Snelling added: “If any government wants businesses to switch to using more environmentally friendly vehicles, they should instead focus on how to make these options a viable solution to transporting the millions of tonnes of goods Britain needs delivered every day.

"Right now, more fuel tax on vans and HGVs would just reduce the size of the British economy and little else.”

FFUK head Howard Cox said: “The Treasury's own dynamic economic modelling, published in 2014, showed that lower fuel duty increases GDP, jobs and consumer spending whilst generating lower inflation.

“The Centre for Economics and Business Research has proven every year that the freeze in duty has generated billions of pounds to the economy and the Treasury's revenue stream. So why would the Labour Party ever consider raising fuel duty?”