HC Deb 09 May 2000 vol 349 c642
12. Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)

When he last met the road haulage forum to discuss transport issues. [120151]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Mr. Keith Hill)

The last meeting was on 17 April.

Mr. Bercow

I am grateful to the Minister for that informative reply. Given that the much-trumpeted cut in vehicle excise duty applies to only a tiny minority of heavy goods vehicles, will the Minister recognise that with fuel now by far the most expensive in Europe, with domestic profit margins slashed to the bone, with heavier foreign trucks seizing British business and with the Government taking seven times as much from the vehicle user as they spend on roads, his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State remains in the sights of road hauliers in my constituency as public enemy number one?

Mr. Hill

The hon. Gentleman ought to contain himself—he is not on Lambeth council any longer. I do not recognise the true views of the road haulage industry in his remarks. This year's Budget gave a substantial boost to the trucking industry. For most lorries, real-terms taxation remained the same, and for some—notably the 40-tonne, five-axle lorry—the 10 per cent. cut in vehicle excise duty, worth £45 million, will provide an important boost to the international competitiveness of the UK haulage industry. In addition, the industry will benefit from increased spending on congestion hot spots and new roads schemes out of the extra £280 million for investment in transport announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As the Freight Transport Association said: For transport, this has been a positive Budget. It knows what it is talking about, even if the Opposition clearly do not.

Mr. Don Foster (Bath)

Have not all those meetings with the forum clouded the Government's judgment? Is it not simply because of pressure from the forum that they have made the ill-judged decision to introduce 44-tonne lorries? Why have they listened only to the forum and totally ignored the advice from the major railfreight operator EWS, which has made it absolutely clear that the introduction of those lorries will reduce by 19 per cent. the share of freight carried on our railways? Will the Minister at least accept the need to do something and consider reducing railfreight access charges?

Mr. Hill

The introduction of the 44-tonne lorry announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in the Budget was made at the recommendation of the Commission for Integrated Transport, which calculated that it would reduce lorry trips by about 100 million a year. That is a significant contribution to the environment, and this Government, with our well-known commitment to the environment, are delighted to have made that judgment.