New licensing Bill could
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saveyou f20 from our Parliamentary correspondent
• Up to £20 might be saved by commercial vehicle owners when they license a vehicle under arrangements proposed in a new Bill now before Parliament.
This bonus was revealed by Mr. Neil Carmichael, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, when he successfully asked the Commons last week to give a Second Reading to the Vehicle and Driving Licences Bill.
This measure sets out a detailed framework for a new, centralized vehicle and driving licensing system, based on a computer at a central office in Swansea.
And another change proposed is the introduction of date-to-date licensing instead of the present month-to-month system.
"At the present, anyone licensing a new vehicle on any day other than the first of the month inevitably loses out," said Mr Carmichael.
Someone, for instance, buying a heavy goods vehicle or coach on the 20th of the month forfeited 20 days' licensing—the say ing under the new scheme would be £17.
Refunds would also be allowed for any number of days outstanding on a licence, subject to a minimum of 30 days—the financial benefits would be the same as those stemming from date-to-date licensing.
These changes would mean a fall in revenue, and therefore a positive gain to individual users, estimated to be nearly £10m in the first full year. But, said Mr. Carmichael, this reduction in revenue would be offset by the savings following the more even flow of work, plus the increased difficulty of duty evasion resulting from continuous liability.
"Continuous liability" put the onus on individuals to notify the Minister when they did not intend to "use or keep" their vehicle on the road, he explained.
He pointed out that one clause in the Bill cut the period from 10 to five years during which holding a driving licence or passing a test would maintain an entitlement to a heavy goods vehicle driving licence.