He said: “That is not Government policy. We will make a decision on that at the next budget in the spring.
“That was just an assumption that the OBR made. They’re an independent organisation.
“They make assumptions, and we have made no decision on that at all. We have not made a decision and the time we make that decision is at the spring budget.”
The RAC’s head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, echoed Ms Potter’s claims saying: “The Government has always made a big deal of cancelling duty rises in the past and will face colossal pressure to do the same this year.
“After all, a rise of these proportions would heap yet more misery on the millions of households that depend on their vehicles, most of whom will have just endured one of the costliest winters on record.
“Instead, we urge the Government to focus on giving serious thought to developing a fair taxation system that can eventually replace fuel duty, which is effectively on borrowed time given the numbers of zero-emission vehicles on the roads that pay no fuel duty whatsoever.
“Our research suggests drivers broadly support the principle of ‘the more you drive, the more tax you should pay’, with more than a third (36 percent) saying a ‘pay per mile’ system would be fairer than the current regime – although three-quarters (75 percent) are concerned the Government might use such a system as a way of increasing the amount they are taxed.”
