Chancellor George Osborne announced an additional £200 million fund for pothole repair services while confirming the fuel task freeze in his 2014 budget statement.
The planned September 2014 fuel task rise had already been scrapped in the autumn statement in 2013 and the Chancellor confirmed task would be frozen until spring 2015, again, in the 2014 Budget.
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The news comes as a welcome relief to motorists, who saw petrol prices soar to as much as 138.32ppl in February 2013. Osborne said in the 2014 budget that the current freeze indicated motorists would be paying 20p less than under the previous Government.
The Chancellor’s greatest announcement during the budget statement was a new 12-sided £1 coin. While not directly affecting drivers, it will indicate all parking meters and machines will have to be replaced in car parks. 
This accounts for around 100,000 machines in the UK and replacing all these will cost at least £50m to local authorities and private parking firms, according to the British parking Association.
The figure could rise if meters and machines are upgraded at the same time to include all the new payment methods – such as chip and pin. While a major investment is needed, the new coin is expected to save parking operators £40 million a year as an estimated four per cent of £1 coins used currently in machines are counterfeit. The royal Mint says the new coin will be the safest in the world.