However, there are warnings that the savings could just be a ‘drop in the ocean’.

In today’s Spring Statement, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a cut in fuel duties of 5p per litre, which will be in place until March next year.

Nick McClellan, managing director at RAM Tracking, a vehicle tracking, dash cam and fleet management company, welcomed the announcement.

‘Fuel duty adds almost 58p per litre to the price of fuel and with prices in the UK having recently hitting a new record high, with the average cost of petrol at £1.65 a litre and diesel £1.76 a litre, this reduction is badly needed for drivers.’

The RAC, however, were sceptical that the reduction in fuel duties would help drivers much.

‘In reality, reducing it by 5p will only take prices back to where they were just over a week ago. With the cut taking effect at 6pm tonight drivers will only notice the difference at the pumps once retailers have bought new fuel in at the lower rate,’ commented RAC head of policy Nicholas Lyes.

‘There’s also a very real risk retailers could just absorb some or all of the duty cut themselves by not lowering their prices. If this proves to be the case it will be dire for drivers. It also wouldn’t be totally unexpected based on the biggest retailers not reducing their prices late last year when the oil price fell sharply.’

Describing the savings from the fuel duty cut as a ‘drop in the ocean’, Mr Lyes continued: ‘Temporarily reducing VAT would have been a more progressive way of helping drivers as the tax is applied at the point the fuel is sold, removing any possibility of retailers taking some of the tax cut themselves to increase their profits.

‘It’s also the case that the Treasury is benefitting hugely from the high fuel prices because of greater VAT revenue. The Chancellor is currently getting 28p a litre VAT on petrol and 30p on diesel – this of course comes on top of fuel duty as VAT is a tax on a tax.’