Nov/Dec 2004

Strong hints of new debate on the UK Government's proposed lorry-road user charging scheme came in a double dose as the year approached its close.

First, in what could turn out to be a landmark shift in approach, the Freight Transport Association made clear to the Government that it no longer offers full support for the scheme as currently envisaged.

Then Chancellor Gordon Brown revealed in his December pre-Budget statement that the Government intends to issue a discussion paper on the subject. This, according to a paper released as part of the pre-Budget process, will consider "various details" of how the charge might operate in practice.

According to Brown's paper, the Government still plans to issue final invitations to tender in January to short-listed contractors wanting to operate the scheme. However, implicit in the very existence of a discussion document is that some discussion will follow before all the T's are crossed.

 

Meanwhile, the FTA's comments on the issue are becoming increasingly urgent. It says there has been "a rapidly increasing scepticism and distrust by lorry operators" over Government promises about the likely effects of the scheme, and it questions whether these promises are sufficient to protect the road transport industry.

It wants Government commitment on two specific aspects of the scheme - its overall tax neutrality (no net increase in tax on lorries), and the Government's readiness to pay for the purchase and installation of the on-board units it will require. It says there is a significant degree of scepticism among operators that the Government really will shoulder the cost burden without passing it on to operators in some way.

In addition, the FTA says operators want the introduction of a fuel tax rebate scheme in advance of the full road user charging scheme to prove the technology, together with a firm understanding of the role of reduced rates for using motorways and operating at night.

The FTA has hitherto been a highly voluble supporter of the LRUC concept, but chief executive Richard Turner now says that in the light of the lack of positive assurances by the Government, the FTA National Council "wants a root and branch review of the scheme with the Treasury before any supplier contracts are nailed down."

The FTA seems unlikely to take much comfort from recent comments by HM Customs & Excise, which will be responsible for running the scheme. A spokesman for this organisation told m.logistics in November that the operating data captured and recorded by the on-board equipment will be owned by HM Customs and Excise - raising question marks over how much of it will be available to operators.

Richard Turner's last word on the subject is unequivocal. "The time has come for the Government to provide convincing evidence to the industry that a fair deal is on offer, and will be delivered," he says, "and that is what I am seeking on behalf of FTA members."