The Government is penalising people in rural areas dependent on a car - Yorkshire Post Letters

Those who live in rural areas, either without or limited bus service, are dependent on a car or, what is becoming increasingly more popular, a small van.

Clearly the Secretary of State for Transport, Mark Harper is unaware that a large section of society is still affected by cost of living and are struggling and even those families in the category of 'middle class' are having to use food banks.

Energy prices for heating their homes have dropped in price, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, is out to get as much taxation from the motorist as he can.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer may have held the fuel duty rate at 52.95 pence on the price of petrol and diesel, but how can he justify charging 5 per cent surcharge for those who cannot afford to buy 12 months road tax each year, and are forced, due to the cost of living, to buy six months or monthly road on direct debit?

The DVLA has saved money by doing away with a tax disc and cheques are being used less therefore saving on bank cost.

This surcharge affects more those people in society who are trying to feed and keep a roof over their families head, and in my opinion can only be described as 'Highway Robbery' jointly orchestrated by Mark Harper who is in charge of transportation and Jeremy Hunt who holds the public purse strings and allocates money to government departments.

Motorists would accept this increase in the running of their cars and vans if the roads were fixed properly as is the case in France.

Many local councils are to blame for the poor repairs to potholes as the edges need cutting out to sound firm tarmacadam, and not just filling a random hole with a wheelbarrow of the 'black stuff' and firming the tarmacadam with a wacker plate instead of doing a proper job in the first place.