§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the charging of light dues on pleasure craft.
§ Mr. NorrisWe believe that users of services should pay towards their cost. We have over a long period sought to identify a means of charging light dues to pleasure craft which would be both fair and capable of generating a worthwhile income for the general lighthouse fund, without creating a disproportionate and expensive administrative system to collect the dues. Following a joint paper which the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland put to the European Commission, the Commission recognised in its communication "A Common Policy on Safe Seas", published in February of this year, that the different approaches applied by member states to the funding of marine navigational aids resulted in some ports operating at a competitive disadvantage. The Commission proposed that a system should be established on a Community-wide basis under which dues would be set, collected and then shared among the national authorities. The system would be based on the "User Pays" principle. The Commission is now carrying forward work on this subject.
The Government have therefore concluded, because of these developments at the Community level, that they should not pursue further the charging of light dues to pleasure craft solely within the United Kingdom. We will wish to keep the situation under review depending on the progress of discussions at Community level.