§ Mrs. Peacockasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he is now able to announce his conclusions following responses to his Department's consultation paper entitled, "Possible Changes in the Allocation of Road Track Costs and the Vehicle Excise Duty Structure for Lorries."
§ Mr. RidleyI have carefully considered the wide range of views received in response to the consultation paper. I have decided that, with one exception, the proposed changes in the method of allocating road track costs to different classes of vehicles provide a sounder basis for the statistical calculations. Decisions on the level of taxation are, however, a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
I have also considered carefully the views of those consulted on the scheme for down-licensing discussed in the consultation document. Under this, a declaration by operators of the maximum weight at which vehicles would operate would be used as a basis for taxation. I do not consider that such a scheme could be satisfactorily enforced. But my Department will be consulting the road freight and vehicle manufacturing industries about an alternative scheme which might help operators of specialised articulated vehicles used for carrying bulky but light loads. A simplification of the structure of vehicle excise duty, which my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has agreed should be introduced at a convenient opportunity, it should also assist the industries.
Full details of my decisions are being sent today by letter to all those consulted, and a copy is being placed in the Library.