The government is to publish draft legislation next month to charge foreign lorries to use UK roads, new transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced yesterday to the delight of British hauliers.
McLoughlin said the new charge will ensure a fairer arrangement for UK hauliers who pay to use continental European roads while their counterparts from mainland Europe use UK roads for free.
Although UK hauliers would also have to pay under the proposed legislation, a cut in vehicle excise duty would compensate British truckers so that they would not have to pay more in real terms.
The Department of Transport has been consulting on the proposals for charges of up to £1,000 annually for foreign hauliers and found “overwhelming” support from the industry.
McLoughlin said: “These proposals will deliver a vital shot in the arm to the UK haulage industry. It is simply not right that foreign lorries do not pay to use our roads, when our trucks invariably have to fork out when travelling to the continent.”
The move has been welcomed by the Road Hauliers Association. Chief executive Geoff Dunning said: “This is a happy day for road hauliers. We have been campaigning for years to see a system introduced which will lessen the financial advantage enjoyed by our European neighbours. UK hauliers travelling to mainland Europe have to pay road charges but foreign registered vehicles travelling to the UK pay nothing.
“We were encouraged when this proposal was first announced at the beginning of the year. At that time it was suggested that a charging system would be in place and working by 2014. To hear that the government intends to have a system in place no later than the end of the current parliament is a real added bonus.”
He added that the expected charge of £1,000 a year was “not enough to give us a level playing field” but described it as a “good start”.
