Temporary Cut To Fuel Duty

24th March 2022

The Government is cutting fuel duty for petrol and diesel by 5 pence per litre across the whole of the UK for 12 months, taking effect from 6pm on the 23rd March 2022.

Unique circumstances globally, including the war in Ukraine, have pushed pump prices up to unprecedented levels. We are taking action to support motorists. Cutting fuel duty will benefit anyone across the UK who uses fuel and represents savings for consumers worth around £2.4 billion over the next 12 months.

What we are doing
We are cutting fuel duty for petrol and diesel by 5 pence per litre across the whole of the UK.

Overall, this is the biggest cut, in cash terms, that has ever been applied across all fuel duty rates at once.

This cut, plus the freeze in fuel duty in 2022-23, represents a £5 billion saving over the next 12-months worth around:

£100 for the average car driver
£200 for the average van driver
£1,500 for the average haulier
Why we are doing it
Unique circumstances globally, including the war in Ukraine, have pushed pump prices up to unprecedented levels. We are taking action to protect all motorists including parents driving their children to school; small businesses completing home deliveries; and hauliers that are critical to supply chains across the country.

This is not only the first cut to main rates of fuel duty in over a decade, it is also the biggest cut in cash terms that has ever been applied across all fuel duty rates at once. The last cut across main fuel duty rates was in 2011, with reductions of 1p to the rates for petrol and diesel and proportionately smaller reductions to lower fuel duty rates.

The Chancellor announced at Autumn Budget 2021 that fuel duty rates would remain frozen in 2022-23 - this was the twelfth consecutive year of the freeze. But now we are going even further to help people with the rising cost of living.

When is it happening?
This cut will take effect from 6pm today (23 March 2022) and last for a full 12 months - balancing providing short term support with the long-term sustainability of the public finances.

Who will benefit?
Cutting fuel duty will benefit anyone across the UK who uses fuel and represents savings for consumers worth around £2.4 billion over the next 12 months. Compared to uprating fuel duty in 2022-23, cutting fuel duty to this level delivers savings for consumers worth over £5 billion over the next year.