The Transport Select Committee has slammed Treasury ministers for failing to engage with its report last year on road pricing, in which it warned that the Government risks losing billions if it does not explore new forms of road taxation.
It has published a Special Report comprising an exchange of letters between chair Iain Stewart MP and Treasury ministers regarding the report, published in February 2022, which highlighted the risks from the switch to electric vehicles, which are not currently subject to Fuel Duty or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).
At the time, the committee chair was Huw Merriman MP, now a Department for Transport minister.
In December, current chair and fellow Tory MP Mr Stewart (pictured) wrote to chancellor Jeremy Hunt, pointing out that, with guidance requiring the Government to respond to a report from a parliamentary committee within two months, a response to his committee’s report was already eight months late.
In reply, Mr Hunt said the Government ‘does not currently have plans to consider road pricing’.
In a further letter to Mr Hunt in January, Mr wrote: ‘It is discourteous both to my Committee and to the witnesses who freely gave their time and expertise, both in writing and in person, that your Department has not meaningfully engaged with the substance of our report nor responded to the specific conclusions and recommendations made.’
Treasury minister James Cartlidge replied last month, reiterating that ‘the Government does not currently have plans to consider road pricing’.
He added: ‘Given this, the Government does not have further views on the Committee’s recommendations for the ways in which road pricing should be considered.’
Mr Stewart said it was ‘disappointing that Treasury ministers have not followed usual Parliamentary courtesies by not responding fully to the important issues flagged in our report’.
He said: ‘In challenging times for the economy it is all the more vital to get this right, not least because most revenue from motoring taxes actually funds hospitals, schools, police and everything else. Only £7bn of the £35bn collected is used to maintain the country’s roads.
‘The Committee recognised that this is a conversation that needs to start sooner rather than later. We were not urging the Government to adopt a particular scheme; we want them to start exploring the options. I hope they will reconsider and respond meaningfully to our suggestions.’
The committee noted that the Government announced last year that VED will be levied on EVs from 2025 but pointed to forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility that this could only raise £1.6bn a year by 2027/28.
