§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he has made in the development of a scheme for charging road hauliers for road use; and when he expects to implement the scheme. [130966]
§ John Healey"Modernising the taxation of the haulage industry—lorry road-user charge—Progress Report Two", published on 6 May 2003 and available in the Library of the House, described the Government's plans to develop the lorry road-user charge, alongside an offsetting cut in hauliers' fuel duty. Since then Customs and Excise have been working very closely with the haulage industry and with other stakeholders to refine the detailed requirements of the Charge. This is necessary before the tendering process can begin.
The charge is a new and complex development, and it will therefore be some time before we will be certain about when it can be introduced.
The Government and the haulage industry want to ensure that the Charge will work reliably and as intended when it goes live. In the meantime our plan remains to introduce the Charge in 2006.
§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he intends that British road hauliers will have to pay vehicle excise duty for individual lorries when he implements the scheme for road use charges. [130967]
§ John HealeyThe Government stated in "Modernisation the taxation of the haulage industry: progress report two", published in May 2003, that when introduced the distance based lorry user charge will be offset though tax cuts in fuel duty.
Decisions about vehicle excise duty for lorries will be made separately by the Chancellor as part of the normal Budget decision making process.