Budget: Will Hammond deter diesel vehicles and unveil extra transport - to grammar schools?

The Chancellor Philip Hammond is expected to use today's Budget to announce measures to make purchasing new diesel vehicles less attractive, whilst continuing the longstanding policy of not hiking fuel duty.

The Guardian newspaper predicted that rising petrol prices made any increase in fuel duty unlikely, particularly given that "the Government is worried about inflation heading north of 3% in 2017/18". However, it warned its readers to "beware changes in vehicle excise duty to make diesel cars less attractive". This came after the transport secretary Chris Grayling said last week that motorists should "take a long, hard think" before buying a new diesel vehicle given the air quality implications.

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard predicted that Hammond "may" announce a pot of extra spending for transport, but would "leave Grayling to clarify the Government's priorities". The other prediction for transport came from Schools Week: that Hammond could announce a new requirement for transport to be provided for pupils winning places in grammar schools up to 15 miles away.

Currently, transport such a distance is only provided for secondary age pupils entitled to free transport if they live this far from their preferred religious school.