The Mover December 2012

32 The Mover ● December 2012 ● www.themover.co.ukNEWS: ON THE ROADFUEL PRICINGTRANSPARENCYRobert Halfon, Tory MPfor Harlow, is preparing totable a Private MembersBill to make fuel pricingmore transparent byseparating out the taxelement of the fuel onpetrol station receipts.The initiative is supportedby the Road HaulageAssociation (RHA). “Thisinitiative will serve as a realwake up call to all users ofroad fuels; petrol or diesel”,said RHA spokesperson KateGibbs. “Filling the tank -regardless of size - has alwaysbeen costly,” she continued.“If the cost of the fuel dutyand the VAT is clearly shownon the receipt, it will makeusers far more aware of justwhere their money is going.This is a move that couldbenefit the economy in generaland the road haulage sectorin particular as customers willsee that they are getting thebest possible rate for the job.The price of fuel has becomea wide reaching political issue;it affects everyone. If thismove for transparency goesahead, fuel pricing has thepotential to become a real votewinner, or indeed vote loser.”The Mover, however, believesthat this will be a total wasteof time as everyone knowsthat most of the cost of fuel istax, nobody looks at the receiptanyway and there’s nothingthey could do about it even ifthey did.● Will this proposal tell motorists muchmore than they already know?● Using motorways could mean paying a higher rate of road tax.Two-tier road tax beingconsidered by the governmentA scheme to introduce a two-tier rate of road tax (VED) wherebymotorists using motorways and other major routes would becharged a higher rate is being considered by the government.The move follows anannouncement by DavidCameron earlier this yearthat an “innovativeapproach” was needed to addressthe issue of how roads would beowned and financed in the future. Ifthe plans were introduced the feeswould be paid to private companiesappointed to manage and invest inthe county’s road network. Camerasusing number plate recognition(NPR) similar to those used by thepolice would be used to catchmotorists who had not paid thehigher rate.At present cars with low levels ofemissions pay a lower rate of VEDthan those deemed to be lessenvironmentally friendly and thishas lead to fears that the amount oftax paid to the exchequer will fallfrom its current level of £6bn duringthe next few years.The Daily Mail reported that otheroptions being considered by thegovernment include changes to theduty’s payment bands or makingthe tax a one-off up-front charge onnew vehicles, instead of chargingannually. However, linking chargesto the distance travelled on majorroutes, or on their use at peak timeshas, according to the newspaper,been ruled out.A spokesman for the Departmentfor Transport said: “The departmentand Treasury are currently carryingout a feasibility study to review newownership and financing modelsfor the strategic road network. Thisis looking at how best we can secureinvestment in the network to increasecapacity and boost economic growth.The government has made clear it“I seem to rememberone of Mr Cameron’spre-election pledgeswas to end the waron motorists andthose who rely onthe road to run theirbusinesses ...”Alastair Binglewill not implement tolls on existingroad capacity and has no plans toreplace existing motoring taxes withpay-as-you-go road charging.”Alistair Bingle, Managing Directorof Bishop’s Move commented:“I seem to remember one of MrCameron’s pre-election pledges wasto end the war on motorists andthose who rely on the road to runtheir businesses effectively. Has thegovernment not considered thatmotorists also pay over 60% tax onevery litre of fuel? A two-tier systemsimply would not ease congestionon the roads. Businesses, familiesand individuals will continue to usethe motorways and main A roadsbecause it makes sense from a timingperspective. This is just anotherrevenue gaining exercise which,whilst in the short term might takesome traffic off the motorways, overtime the public will revert to usingthe quickest means of getting fromA to B. The net result will be moretax revenue with little achieved toalleviate congestion.”Road safetycharity offers freesafety advice tofleet operatorsBrake, the road safety charity,is launching a new initiativecalled ‘Ask Brake’.The service will provide fleetmanagers and health andsafety professionals withadvice and guidance on issues theyare experiencing with the safety oftheir fleets.Fleet managers can ‘Ask Brake’ foradvice completely free of charge,thanks to sponsorship from fleetmanagement and incident preventioncompany FMG. Answers will bepublished on the charity’s websiteto facilitate the wider sharing ofbest practice.Roz Cumming, DevelopmentManager at Brake, said; “Managingyour organisation’s road risk is afundamental part of being aresponsible and ethical business,ensuring staff have the greatestchance of staying safe on the roads.‘Ask Brake’ will provide anotherchannel through which Brake cansupport fleet managers and healthand safety professionals, utilising thecharity’s considerable experienceto share best practice and help toreduce the number of devastatingcrashes which take place involvingat-work drivers.”● If you would like to ‘Ask Brake’for advice on a particular fleetsafety issue, e-mail Brake’s FleetSafety Forum today at forum@brake.org.uk quoting ‘Ask Brake’in the subject line.● ‘Ask Brake’ will provide support for fleet managersand health and safety professionals.