Road Pricing (Hansard, 24 April 1989)

§ 1. Mr. Stern
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the future of road pricing.

§ The Secretary of State for Transport (Mr. Paul Channon)
Road pricing is often suggested as a way of using road space more efficiently in urban areas. It has some attractions, and I do not wish to rule it out for the future, but there are some serious practical problems, and it clearly could not be an immediate option.

§ Mr. Stern
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does he agree that no remotely economic way of road pricing has yet been demonstrated anywhere in the world and that the chances of this wild idea becoming a reality remain very small?

§ Mr. Channon
I agree that there is nowhere on a comparable, or even approaching comparable scale to London—in respect of which road pricing is often mentioned—where anything is in place. The problems of congestion, for example, are much in the minds of all hon. Members. The issue needs careful study but, as I have said, road pricing could not be an immediate option. There are serious practical problems associated with it.

§ Mr. Roy Hughes
As the Treasury will collect approximately £17 billion in motor taxation during the current year and as less than one quarter of it will be spent on roads and maintenance, is it not diabolical that the Government should even consider imposing additional taxation on the motorist?

§ Mr. Channon
I do not think that I accept the hon. Member's figures in their entirety, but his general point is well taken. Motorists pay a great deal in taxation. It is a bit early for the hon. Gentleman to say that we are being diabolical because, as I said a few moments ago, road pricing could not be an immediate option. There are serious practical problems with it, and nothing could be done without a great deal of study. It is a bit too early to accuse us of all these appalling crimes.

§ Mr. Dickens
rose—

Hon. Members
Hear, hear.

§ Mr. Dickens
It is nice to be back. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we have, somehow, to lower the density of traffic in our city centres? Taxation as a way forward would enable buses and taxis to move faster through our city centres and give people more of a chance to get about.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that we must encourage more private investment so that we can accelerate our major road building programme in return for, perhaps, a toll which would enable motorists and other road users to save many pounds in petrol?

§ Mr. Channon
My hon. Friend raises several important matters. There are other questions on the Order Paper on which the subject of road expenditure may crop up. My hon. Friend will be aware that the Government propose to publish a roads White Paper in the not too distant future. I shall bear what my hon. Friend has said in mind.
I share my hon. Friend's concern to reduce inner-city congestion. Whether road pricing is the right way to go about it remains doubtful. The matter needs careful study. I urge hon. Members on both sides of the House—this. is clearly not a party political issue—to bear in mind the experiences of other towns and the arguments that have been advanced in favour of the proposal.