§ Mr. Boothasked the Secretary of State for Transport what is his Department's latest estimate of the underpayment and evasion of vehicle excise duty by heavy goods vehicle operators; whether he will order a national survey as proposed by the Department in 1978; and what steps he is proposing to increase action against such evasion.
§ Mr. FowlerThe Department's 1978 survey, which related primarily to cars, suggested that evasion by goods vehicles might be of the order of 10 to 13 per cent. These surveys are expensive and. as the 1978 one recognised, there are inherent difficulties in obtaining a precise estimate of evasion levels. I have preferred to concentrate on direct efforts to deter the evader. The proposal in the Transport Bill to tax heavy goods vehicles on the basis of their gross weight should reduce opportunities for under-licensing.