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The cost of fuel duty will rise further after the Chancellor delivered his budget this lunch time. The increase comes as a double blow for motorists as Alistair Darling failed to delay the upcoming 'showroom tax'. Here is a guide to the announcements that affect us, the British motorists.

Staggered 3p fuel duty increase
The biggest news for motorists is the staggered 3p increase in fuel duty, beginning with a 1p rise on April 1, a similar increase on October 1 and a final one penny increase in January. The move was widely regarded as a 'softening of the blow' before the general election.

New car 'showroom tax' to start on April 1
With the Government's scrappage scheme - which Mr Darling attributed to 30 per cent of UK sales since its introduction - drawing to a close there was a possibility of postponing the new 'showroom tax'. However, no mention of the first-year vehicle duty tax was mentioned, meaning the scheme will start on April 1.

Under the new measures, buyers of the most polluting cars will have to pay up to £950 in the first year of ownership, while more environmentally-friendly cars attract tax savings.

More money for road repairs
£100m is to be made available to repair the nation's crumbling local road network following the particularly harsh winter. Meanwhile £280m has been put aside to improve Britain's motorways. This includes extending the use of the hard shoulder during heavy traffic, a trial scheme of which has proved popular along a stretch of the M42 near Birmingham.

Sustainable transport investment
The Chancellor announced that 'an investment bank, controlling £2bn of equity, will be set up to fund green transport and energy initiatives'. This is expected to include the replacement of nuclear power stations and the construction of the world's largest off-shore wind farms. This will supply the country with a greater percentage of renewable energy.

This move is central to the Government's long-term ambitions of becoming the leading power in electric vehicles such as the Nissan LEAF which will be built in the company's UK plant in Washington from 2013.

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