ii Well done, Chancellor Brown. You have kept your
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promises and cut diesel duty by 3p/lit and reformed vehicle excise duty so it is in line with the lowest in Europe. While many operators have benefited from VED rebates over the past few weeks, and will continue to benefit from the reformed system, everybody will now get immediate savings from the fuel duty reductions.
Although now gone, the dreadful fuel duty escalator is still fresh in our memories. But ever more deeply embedded is the memory of the annual inflation increase in diesel duty which the Chancellor "reluctantly" imposed each spring. Can anybody remember a Budget when diesel duly actually went down? I can't.
Of course the duty on fuel is still too high—over twice the EU average—but don't forget how far the government has travelled with us in the past year or so. It is not before time that the Chancellor and his colleagues recognise the importance of our industry to the economy and to society, but how many thought that we would have got even this far? The Chancellor's new measures are justified and necessary, but hardly what we expected of a government that set out four years ago to regulate the industry, deny us better lorries, deny us road investment and tax our exhausts off.
And there's more. Hidden away in the announcements on 7 March was a decision on how the ,£100m modernisation fund will be spent. A first again for our industry, and as rare as hen's teeth—so it's important that we spend it wisely.
The Chancellor confirmed that this money would go towards retro-fitted catalytic converters, fuel efficiency, training and enforcement. The FTA supported this because we are convinced that this money should be used as a route to long-term improved performance rather than, for example, a one-off cash handout to scrap old trucks.
But we are wary of a "one size fits all" approach because the problems just ain't that simple, nor the same for all of us.
It is crucial, therefore, that we look closely at individual operators and map their needs in order to ensure accurate routeing of these valuable funds. It is most welcome, therefore, that the Chancellor has agreed to spend some of this money carrying out essential scoping work. This will involve working with individual companies, identifying where best practice and new technology can help, and coaching businesses on how to access funds to underpin change and investment.
Of course times are still tough. Fuel prices and taxes are still too high, arid getting good drivers is tougher than ever. But surviving and thriving has always taken more than just hard work.
Of course we all need to work smarter, but when you're in the swamp up to your backside in alligators it's hard to concentrate on more than one thing! In his Budget the Chancellor could have, and should have, done much more for us and given us a bigger break with lower fuel duty. But he has given some valuable help on costs, plus, importantly, a way to help us out of the swamp. Make sure that you get your share.