§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce plans to deregulate the tolls of the 10 bridges and ferries that are still subject to statutory controls. [25474]
§ Mr. WattsI have today published a consultation paper, "Regulation of Tolls at Statutory Undertakings". The paper examines options for replacing the current procedures governing toll revisions of crossing such as private ferry undertakings and private and local authority-owned bridges and tunnels.
The three main options outlined are continued regulation, but with improvements in the criteria and procedures; partial deregulation, with tolls rising annually up to a prescribed limit; and full deregulation, with undertakings setting their own charges.
Current procedures are cumbersome and protracted for the 16 private and local authority river crossings that were promoted by statute, and the criteria by which toll revisions have to be judged are unclear and difficult to apply. We are inviting users and operators of the relevant crossings to comment on alternatives to the present system. If some measure of deregulation is the outcome, I envisage consulting further on measures under the Deregulations and Contracting Out Act 1994.
I have placed a copy of the consultation paper in the Library.