Ban road spending call
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• Britain's transport infrastructure must benefit from the .1280bn of extra fuel-tax revenue which the Government is expected to collect over the next 10 years. says the RAC.
Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to raise fuel duty by at least 6% above the rate of inflation. Even assuming a conservative estimate that inflation will average 2.5%, this will give the Government an extra £78bn over the next decade.
"The Chancellor has a responsibility to invest properly in the country's future," says an RAC spokesman. "Reducing congestion and pollution will require large-scale investment," he adds. "Unless there is a transport strategy the forthcoming Integrated Transport White Paper will be in danger of coming off the rails."
The RAC proposes that some of the extra fuel tax income should be spent on road maintenance, new bypasses and traffic-reduction measures.
Last week the Irish government promised that it will spend money raised from further fuel tax rises exclusively on the country's roads network (CM 5-11 March).