Proposals to charge foreign lorries to use British roads receive widespread backing

Posted: 24/09/2012

The Government has outlined plans for a scheme to charge foreign heavy goods vehicles to use UK roads. The idea is that all HGVs will pay the charge, but that there will be a corresponding reduction in vehicle excise duty for UK HGVs. (This is because by law the scheme cannot discriminate between UK-registered vehicles and vehicles from elsewhere in the EU). The move is designed to create a level playing field for British hauliers as they are required to pay for using many roads in continental Europe. The amount of the charge would depend on the size of the HGV.

The Government intends to publish draft legislation shortly and ministers have suggested that the charge could be brought in by the end of the current Parliament at the latest.

Reaction from the Road Hauliers Association (RHA) has been positive. “This is a happy day for road hauliers,” said RHA chief executive Geoff Dunning. “We have been campaigning for years to see a system introduced which will lessen the financial advantage currently 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.”

James Stephen, a partner in Penningtons’ transport sector group, agreed that this is a step in the right direction: “I believe that the UK road haulage industry will welcome this move and the opportunity to operate in a fairer environment. Going forward, it will be interesting to see whether the Government moves towards a distance-based charging scheme – a proposal which has been advocated by some lobbying groups.”

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