BUDGET BOOST OR BUST?

MOTORISTS can take some comfort from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget on Wednesday. Key highlights include:

n A £200 million boost to English councils to fix ‘the curse of potholes’ on the nation’s crumbling roads. It marks a victory for the Daily Mail’s campaign to end the pothole plague.

But the AA said the cash was needed now, not next year, warning: ‘Years of underinvestment in our road network coupled with a cold and wet winter is already unveiling the craters.’

n FREEZING fuel duty at the pumps by extending a 5p per litre duty cut introduced last March and abandoning an automatic inflation rise. Duty on petrol and diesel remains at 52.95p per litre.

Motoring groups welcomed the freeze. However, motorists will still have to pay 20 per cent VAT on the combined cost of the base product price plus the duty.

n SPECIFIC extra support for electric car take- up failed to materialise.

However, motorists’ charging costs may have some indirect relief from the Chancellor’s decision to keep the Energy Price Guarantee in place at £2,500 until June, saying this will save the average household £160 on bills.

But the energy support scheme giving homes £67 a month off their bills, will still end in March.