§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the Vehicle Excise Duty payable on(a) 40 tonne and (b) 41 tonne heavy goods vehicles from 1 January 1999. [58309]
§ Ms HewittThe Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that he is reviewing the system for setting Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates for lorries to ensure that the environmental damage caused by lorries is reflected in their VED rates. The review is taking into account the wider environmental impacts of lorries, as well as considerations of their physical effects on the road infrastructure. The VED payable from 1 January 1999 for the new vehicles are set out in the table:
£ New Vehicles VED rates from 1 January 1999 (until the next Budget) Rigid 17–18t (2 axles) 1,320 Artic 36t (4 axles) 5,170 Artic 38t (4 axles) Artie 40t (5 axles) 3,210 Artie 41t (6 axles) 1,280 Artie 44t (5 axles) 2,280 New higher rates will be announced in the next Budget, to discourage strongly the use of vehicles with 11½ tonne axle weights, in view of the additional road damage that they cause.