Westminster Hall
Tuesday 9 March 2010
[Mr. Eric Martlew in the Chair]
Motoring
Motion made, and Question proposed, That the sitting be now adjourned.-(Mark Tami.)
9.30 am
Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con): It is a delight to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Martlew, in this important debate about motoring in the United Kingdom. I was wondering if it might otherwise be termed "the Jeremy Clarkson memorial debate", but clearly Jeremy is not dead. None the less, it is a debate that could be held in his name. In this country, motorists are seen as the bane of society and as something almost to be despised. Clearly, that assessment is not true, but one could be forgiven for thinking that it is.
The cost to the average motorist of running a car has soared in recent years. It has been tacitly implied that motorists are a problem and therefore that it is justifiable to clobber them at every turn. However, the fact is that for many people the car is a necessity, not a luxury. It is a fact that we all seem to have lost sight of. In rural areas, such as my constituency of Ribble Valley, access to public transport is poor and the car is a fundamental facet of everyday life for families, the elderly and the disabled.
From the moment that a car is bought, there are three essential items that must be purchased, which are insurance, a tax disc and fuel. Car insurance premiums have been rising at record rates in the past year and they took their biggest ever upward jump during the last quarter of 2009, according to the latest benchmark AA British insurance premium index. The average quoted premium for an annual comprehensive car insurance policy rose in the fourth quarter of 2009 by 7.2 per cent. to just over £1,000. Simon Douglas, the director of AA Insurance, has said:
"The cost of accident damage has also been rising steadily, despite a fall in the number of accidents on Britain's roads."
I am sure that the Minister will agree that that is indeed a very large sum to pay for car insurance. Perhaps the Government will commit to working with the insurance companies to ensure that Britain's motorists get a fair deal on something that they have no choice but to purchase.
Mr. Robert Goodwill (Scarborough and Whitby) (Con): Does my hon. Friend also recognise the fact that, under this Labour Government, motor insurance tax has doubled, which has also contributed to the increased cost of insurance?
Mr. Evans: That is another stealth tax. I am sure that most people would not be able to say exactly how much they are paying in taxation on whatever item they are purchasing, whether it is insurance or any other item. So that tax is another stealth tax, which is to be regretted.
As The Observer reported in January, plans published by the Department for Transport will soon make it an offence purely to be the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle, with fines of up to £1,000 being imposed even if the vehicle is not being driven. On top of that, the bad weather that we have had this year and the poor gritting that has taken place throughout the entire country have meant that there has been a lot of accidents. No doubt, insurance premiums will rise again.
Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley) (Lab): I have been listening to the hon. Gentleman carefully. He is attacking the idea of forcing people to have car insurance. How would he deal with the fact that there are up to 2 million uninsured motorists driving on our roads, which is a risk for all of us? He has got an analysis, but no solutions.
Mr. Evans: Actually, I am not attacking the insurance on vehicles generally; I think that it is essential that people have vehicle insurance. I fully appreciate the fact that a lot of accidents occur on the roads involving people who do not have insurance and I think that people should be clobbered hard if they are found not to have insurance on their vehicles. So, I have no problems with vehicle insurance. What I do have a problem with is the rate at which insurance premiums have risen in the past few years and particularly in the past year. If everybody paid their vehicle insurance, I suspect that we could get the premiums down. So that is an issue that we ought to focus on far more readily than is the case.
Next we have the tax disc. Again, I have no problem with its existence, but I have a problem with the manner in which it is applied. A larger car has a larger engine. Therefore, it follows that a larger car requires more fuel. So the driver of a larger car pays more tax at the pump. That makes perfect sense. What does not make sense, however, is the fact that a tax disc costs more for a larger car. Why is that? There are no extra administrative costs for the issuer, so the answer is that that tax is punitive, or in Government-speak, a financial disincentive. Again, that conveniently ignores the fact that there is a natural financial disincentive in place already with fuel tax. Those who drive more or who use more petrol to drive the same distance as other people with smaller cars should and do pay more tax. Therefore, there is no reason to tax them twice unless it is for revenue purposes, and if that is the case, the Government should be honest about it.
I hope that the Minister will say something about the fact that so many foreign vehicles, particularly lorries, use British roads and pay nothing to do so. By contrast, if British lorries are on foreign roads, the drivers either need to have an appropriate tax disc or they pay separately under separate charges.
Bob Spink (Castle Point) (Ind): I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on bringing this issue to the House. It is, of course, very important for his constituents in Ribble Valley.
I will now say something that Jeremy Clarkson may not want me to say. Why should we not get rid of the tax disc altogether and put all the tax on the fuel? Then there would be no avoidance, it would be an environmentally
very sound policy, it would raise more tax, and it would save an awful lot of money that is currently being spent on administration.
Mr. Evans: I must say that there is an argument to be made for doing just that. People cannot avoid having to put petrol or diesel into their vehicles, so there is a common-sense argument that the more that people drive, the more they pay. The "polluter pays" argument is very important, so that needs to be looked at seriously. However, I object to the fact that this new stealth tax has been introduced on bigger cars and I just do not see the sense in it, other than that it is another stealth tax to raise taxation revenue to pay for the deep hole that the Chancellor has helped to dig in the past 13 years.
So we are at the petrol station, as it were, and I see that there will be an Adjournment debate shortly in the House on garages and their valuations, which will determine what rates garage owners have to pay. I hope that the Minister will look carefully at that issue too, because a lot of independent petrol stations out there have been clobbered by the new valuations. That means that either the extra money they have to pay will be passed on to the customer in the form of higher prices, or we will see a lot more independent petrol stations closing, with the supermarkets filling the void.
According to the AA, the average price at the pumps at the moment is £1.12 a litre for petrol and £1.14 a litre for diesel. In April 2008, unleaded petrol retailed at an average price of £1.07 a litre, according to the House of Commons Library. This debate was secured last Wednesday. In last Friday's edition of the Metro newspaper, there was an article that said that, according to the AA,
"since the end of November 2008, the burden of fuel duty and VAT on a tank of petrol in Britain has soared by 11.46 per cent compared with 2.23 per cent in Austria. The average rise for ten European countries, including France and Germany, was just over 5 per cent."
Can the Minister please explain how that has come about? Does he think that those price rises are fair or proportionate, or does he perhaps feel that motorists are carrying the jerry can for the Prime Minister's financial ineptitude?
The Daily Telegraph carried the same story on its front page, but it added that the EU is planning its own tax on petrol. The article stated:
"The European Union is drawing up plans for its first direct tax with a 'green' levy on petrol, coal and natural gas that could cost British consumers up to £3 billion."
I do not want to get into the semantics of the farce that was the ratification of the Lisbon treaty, but suffice it to say that I implore the Minister and the Government to resist such developments with vigour. Taxation should be set by sovereign Governments.
My final point about the taxation of fuel is that motorists will also face petrol pump increases from 1 April that could add another 2.5p per litre to the price of fuel, according to the AA. In the past, I have implored the Government to freeze the fuel duty escalator and
I wish to put on record yet again my opposition to it. Families are already cash-strapped. We should not be squeezing more money out of them by increasing duty on what is, for many of them, a daily necessity.
Once the motorist is on the road, insurance and tax paid and tank full, more charges are to be found, from congestion charges to speed cameras, toll roads and parking. Motorists are constantly dipping into their wallets.
Bob Spink: The hon. Gentleman has tempted me to my feet by mentioning toll roads. People in south Essex must pay the added cost of the Dartford crossing toll, which can add up to £15 a week for essential journeys across the river to go to work or visit and care for relatives. Neither the Tories nor Labour will remove the tax, as was promised in the original legislation fixing the toll. It was said that when the bridge was paid for, the toll would be removed. The bridge has been paid for, but an amendment to another Bill was passed to allow the tolling to continue. That is dishonest and wrong. I hope that Tory and Labour Front-Bench Members will promise to remove that tax.
Mr. Eric Martlew (in the Chair): Order. Interventions should be short.
Mr. Evans: The hon. Gentleman has made a strong point. If that promise was made, it should be adhered to. People should adhere to their promises. My goodness me: we are in election mode, and a lot of promises will be made over the next few weeks. If people make promises, it is important that they should be kept. The particular instance that he mentioned is nothing more than a stealth tax to raise revenue. It is an easy hit. If anything, I suspect that the Government will seek to do more of that in future rather than less, but I hope that they will listen to what he said.
I have long argued that many speed cameras are purely money-making exercises, with no tangible link whatever to road safety or proven effectiveness in reducing speed. I spoke to David Bizley of the Royal Automobile Club recently, and we discussed speed cameras. The RAC's view, which I endorse, is that greater use should be made of average speed cameras and speed-activated warning signs. They help to educate motorists to stay within the limit and promote safe driving, rather than simply penalising them. I also agree with the RAC that a nationwide audit of existing speed cameras is necessary to ensure that each can demonstrate a proven effect in reducing accidents. Those that cannot should be removed. I understand that to be my party's policy, which will be implemented as soon as we are elected.
Speed cameras earn the Government a staggering £88 million a year, or approximately £250,000 every day, and the number issued each year has doubled under this Administration. Overall, drivers have been hit for almost £1 billion in speeding fines during the past decade. At least two tickets are handed out every minute. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers Alliance, said:
"The fact that more speeding fines are handed out every year suggests that speed cameras are more about raising revenue than reducing speeds on the roads. Fining anyone should be about justice, not fundraising",
which is exactly what is going on.
I suspect that over the years, we have all seen cameras at the bottoms of hills and police using handheld speed guns in similar positions. In Clitheroe recently, I saw a mobile camera placed on top of a postbox at the bottom of a hill. The camera was being hidden. There was no warning and no indication that it was there to help promote safety; it was merely a potential cash cow.
Mr. John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD): Does the hon. Gentleman know whether the Government are paying rent to Royal Mail for that?
Mr. Evans: I hope so. The camera will at least deter people from using the postbox.
If we are serious about reducing accidents on the roads and reducing speed in certain areas, we ought to be open about using cameras. Static cameras must be yellow, and there must be signs telling people that they are approaching an area of potential problems. Hiding cameras shows clearly that there is no intention to indicate to motorists that they should slow down for a blackspot; it is all about nabbing them, giving them three points and fining them. That simply should not be allowed. The Minister is nodding, but I have seen somebody hiding behind a letterbox. That should not be allowed. Speed cameras ought to be about road safety and speed awareness, not revenue raising. Average speed checks are better. The sooner we hold a review of speed cameras, the better.
Graham Stringer: As the hon. Gentleman continues his rant against speed cameras and taxes, will he tell us two things? First, given that he wants to get rid of all those taxes, what extra cuts will the Conservatives make if they abolish the fuel duty escalator and give up the income from speed cameras? Secondly, what does he think of the 2005 evaluation of speed cameras that showed that speeds and road accident deaths had decreased?
Mr. Evans: Generally, it is because there are more cars on the road. I love driving under gantries that say "50 mph". I look at them and dream of driving 50 mph. The amount of congestion on the roads is an issue.
The hon. Gentleman represents a Manchester seat. I know that Manchester recently held a vote on congestion charging. As I remember, he was against it. It was a great victory for the people of Manchester that congestion charging was not introduced into the area, because they all saw it as another tax. The Government tried to bribe the people of Manchester into voting for it, but they would not be bought.
All that I am asking for is transparency in everything to do with motoring. I do not think that motorists should be used as cash cows. I can think of all sorts of similar issues. I know that the Government are considering putting VAT on food to raise extra revenues to fill the black hole that has grown over many years. No; we must just be more careful about how we spend our money and more transparent about how we raise it. We should not use the motorist as a cash cow at every turn. I hope that any future Government will consider that. Speed cameras ought not to be about revenue raising; road safety and speed awareness should be at their core.
On clamping, there is a public perception among those in the motoring industry that clamping is done for monetary reasons alone. There is still a suspicion that people are given official or unofficial commissions for reporting or carrying out clamping. My hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry), during debate on the Crime and Security Bill, said:
"clamping appears to be one of the few growth industries under this Government. I find it objectionable that so many of our fellow citizens are being ripped off by wheel-clampers."-[Official Report, 18 January 2010; Vol. 504, c. 89.]
Paul Watters, the AA's head of public affairs, has observed:
"Private parking enforcement is big business generating millions of pounds and no one notices and acts when the rules are broken. The public have absolutely no protection if a private parking firm acts unfairly-it is a civil matter and no one is interested in helping."
The number of vehicles clamped has risen by 75 per cent. in the past 19 months, and 2,100 individuals are licensed to clamp.
The same is true of parking. We have all seen parking attendants waiting by a car for the meter to run out. Parking laws exist to be enforced, of course, and for good reasons, but why promote the attitude that it is all about the money on the back of actions taken? The Government's problem is that there is a wider sphere of suspicion about the motives behind the charges. Councils received a total of £328 million in on and off-street parking fines in 2008-09. Peter Roberts, chief executive of the Drivers' Alliance, said:
"Parking enforcement has become a massive money-making industry and we are seeing unscrupulous and target driven enforcement of parking laws where the penalties far outweigh the offence."
I can remember a time when there were no parking charges in Clitheroe. When they were introduced, I said to my local authority, "Why have you introduced charges?" The charges hit many local shops, because having to pay for parking deterred people from coming into town to shop. I was told, "The Government assume that we are raising a certain amount in revenues, and that amount is taken off the support that we would otherwise get." Basically, the Government are promoting car parking charges in towns and villages. That is a great shame. As we all know, they will be seeking other ways to raise revenues as well. I suspect that in my lifetime, car parking charges will be introduced for people using supermarkets and out-of-town shopping centres. That is to be deplored.
Charge by charge, stealth tax by stealth tax, the Government have created the impression that motoring is wrong, that people ought not to drive and that it is acceptable to charge them increasing amounts of money at every turn. As I have said, for many people, owning a car is not a luxury, but a necessity. When the 4x4 Chelsea tractor tax was mooted, the Government seemed not to have even considered the effect that such blanket legislation would have on people such as farmers who use such vehicles in the course of their profession. So blinded were Ministers by the possibility of another revenue stream that they lost sight of the bigger picture.
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