The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called on George Osborne to lower fuel duty in next month's budget.

It claims that if the chancellor reduces the amount of tax, the result would ease the pressure on domestic freight activity and help the country's economy to grow. Instead of just freezing the charge, the group has urged the government to cut it by 3p per litre.

Managing director of policy and communications at the FTA, James Hookham, commented: "Our research showed he (Osborne) would get his money back through higher tax receipts as trade improved and jobs increased."

Meanwhile, the association has also called for the duty-differential for substituting traditional fuel with used cooking oil to be reinstated. Several haulage and transport companies have invested in processing and refuelling infrastructure to support this initiative and help meet the government's targets for reducing greenhouse gases. The FTA claimed that by reintroducing the grant, this environmentally-friendly process would become more financially sustainable.