Northern Ireland cost of living: Consumer Council welcomes recommendation to roll out petrol and diesel price checker across UK

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland has welcomed a recommendation to roll its forecourt fuel price checker tool out across the UK.
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By Philip Bradfield
Published 3rd Jul 2023, 16:15 BST
Updated 3rd Jul 2023, 16:17 BST

The recommendation to the government from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) comes after it launched an investigation into forecourt prices across the UK for petrol and diesel, following a surge in retail prices.

The CMA probe found that increased supermarket profit margins led to drivers paying an extra 6p per litre for fuel last year.

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It said average supermarket fuel margins rose by 6p per litre between 2019 and 2022.

The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland has welcomed a recommendation to roll its forecourt fuel price checker tool out across the UK.The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland has welcomed a recommendation to roll its forecourt fuel price checker tool out across the UK.
The Consumer Council for Northern Ireland has welcomed a recommendation to roll its forecourt fuel price checker tool out across the UK.

The inquiry also found that an increase in margins on diesel across all fuel retailers cost drivers an extra 13p per litre during the first five months of this year.

The CMA recommended that the government introduce legislation to enable a fuel finder open data scheme to be created, similar to that already operated by the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland.

This would allow drivers to compare pump prices at different sites through apps or satnavs.

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Peter McClenaghan, Director of Infrastructure at the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, he was grateful the CMA considered the benefits of their Fuel Price Checker in NI – which has the lowest prices in the UK.

However he said that NI could benefit further if there is a statutory requirement for a price checker tool.

"Making it compulsory for retailers to publish their prices on a daily basis so that drivers can access live, station by station, fuel prices would benefit consumers and could enhance competition,” he added.

The Fuel Price Checker shows the average, lowest, and highest prices in every area of NI. See: www.consumercouncil.org.uk/fuelpricechecker

Related topics:Northern Ireland