§ Mr. Damian GreenTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the(a) the 1064W proposed date for implementation of the Lorry Road User Charge and (b) its tax implications for the UK haulage industry. [158221]
§ John HealeyThe Government published "Modernising the taxation of the haulage industry—lorry road user charge: progress report two" in May 2003, in which we set out the timescale on which we hoped the Lorry Road User Charge would be implemented, depending on what the market tells us can be delivered by when. We also said that the charge would be offset through fuel duty reductions for lorry operators, so that overall those who buy fuel in the UK will pay no more tax as a result of the introduction of the charge. A further progress report will be issued shortly.