Minister says Brit-disc' toll plan is a non-starter
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II by Miles Brignall
Roads Minister Lord Whitty has told MPs that the Government does not plan to introduce a "Brit-disc" toll for all hauliers using UK roads because the scheme would cost more to run than it would raise.
He was speaking last week when he appeared before the Transport Select Committee investigation into the competitiveness of UK hauliers. Asked if he favoured a toll that would be paid by all hauliers, he reported that European Union law sets a maximum on such charges of £760 a year—which is roughly what it would cost to administer the scheme.
Under the proposed Britdisc plan, which is endorsed by the Tories, all hauliers would pay for the right to drive on UK roads, but UK hauliers would get the money back in the form of a reduction in vehicle excise duty.
Whiny claimed that the amounts involved would do little to equalise the VED rates paid by foreign and domestic operators. This point was seized upon by committee chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody, who suggested that some income was better than no income.
The committee also heard evi hence from Carlisle haulier Edward Stobart, who described how he has flagged out more than 100 vehicles to Belgium where he is paying VED of £560 per truck. While he admitted his Belgian drivers cost him an extra £70 a week in higher social costs, he said this is more than offset by the lower price of diesel.
Stobart estimated that buying cheaper Belgian diesel saves him £250 per truck per week.
His fellow Shadow Transport Forum member Edward Roderick told the committee that changes to capital allowances would allow operators of all sizes to buy more modern and less polluting vehicles.
He also pointed out that the UK haulage industry is not pleading for any special treatment from the Government—it just wants to be allowed to compete on a level playing field with hauliers from the Continent