Sainsbury's is going further than the 5p fuel duty cut. The supermarket is joining Asda is going further than the cut the chancellor announced in his Spring Statement on Wednesday.
From 6pm last night, fuel duty was cut by 5p but the supermarket chain has said it will go further. Asda had already said it would cut it by 6p. The measures announced have been criticised as not helping all those in need. If you want to know the winners and losers from the Spring Statement, we've analysed that.
It is the first time fuel duty has been cut in two decades and the largest ever cut.
Simon Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, Sainsbury’s said: “We know our customers and colleagues are concerned about increases to the cost of living and at Sainsbury’s we are doing everything we can to support them. We really welcome today's changes to fuel duty and national insurance. We are passing a 6 pence per litre cut in fuel across our forecourts from 6pm tonight as we know fuel costs are one of the biggest pressures everyone is facing right now.
“We were pleased to welcome the Chancellor to one of our stores today to discuss what we are doing to offer customers great value and to invest over £100 million in increasing pay for our colleagues with a new hourly rate of £10 per hour nationally and £11.05 in inner London.”
Edmund King, President of the AA welcomed the cut in fuel duty but said there was concern about retailers passing it on.
“The Chancellor has ridden to the rescue of UK families and businesses who use their vehicles, not for pleasure, but to function in their daily lives. Since the start of the year, the 20p-a-litre surge in pump prices has been the shock that rocked the finances of families, and particularly young drivers, pensioners and lower-income workers who need to commute each day.
“AA research showed that even in November, when petrol pump prices set new records at around 148p a litre, 43% of drivers were cutting back on car use, other spending to compensate or both. That rose to 59% among young drivers and 53% among the lower-paid. Petrol started this week averaging 167p a litre.
“On top of the duty cut, there has been a substantial reduction in wholesale road fuel costs feeding through to the forecourts since 9 March. That needs to drive lower pump prices also. The road fuel trade shouldn’t leave the Treasury to do the heavy lifting when cutting motoring costs," he said.
