THE CHIEF executive of a social action charity has said he would be “really worried” if fuel duty is unfrozen in 2026.
Patrick Lynch, who heads Catholic-based Caritas Jersey told the JEP that re-introducing the levy on road-fuel- which has been frozen since 2023 to ease cost of living pressures – would “really affect” people on lower incomes who are reliant on their own cars.
It comes after Treasury Minister Deputy Elaine Millar said last week that her department is discussing the reintroduction of the fuel levy next year.
Deputy Millar told members of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel that reintroducing inflation-linked costs to petrol and diesel is on the cards for 2026, citing the benefit to government revenue streams.
But Mr Lynch noted that, even without the added cost of fuel duty, many car-reliant employees on low incomes were already regularly attending charity food banks to get by.
“People who are in these roles, such as cleaners and gardeners, come to us and it’s amazing how much they spend on fuel,” he said.
“[Unfreezing fuel duty] would contribute to further food bank usage which charities have to bear the cost of – not government,” he added. “It’s not fair.”
The boss of a fuel company was equally sympathetic to the consumer amid the possibility that fuel costs may rise in 2026.
Jonathan Best, director of ATF Fuels, said he wanted to see government freeze fuel duty for motorists for another 12 months, noting that global turmoil had already led to to price increases.
“The way the world is currently, with all the external influences of continued conflicts in Europe, and more recently in the Middle East, that pushes the wholesale prices [of fuel] up,” Mr Best explained.
“To throw that duty on top of that would be difficult,” he added. “I’d like to see another year of freeze, to see what the landscape is around the world.”
