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NOTHING IN THE BUDGET
The latest budget has failed to maintain the fiscal incentives for people to get out of cars and onto bikes in the interests of saving fuel and roadspace.
While it would be naïve to imagine that the Chancellor is going to backpeddle on this budget it does no harm to keep the pressure on to keep things moving in the right direction.
You might like to reproduce the accompanying letter or reword it and send it to Mr Brown.
Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
LONDON
SW1A2HQ
ministers@hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk
Dear Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
As a member of the Motorcycle Action Group I am disappointed that the recent budget does not reflect the positive environmental contribution which motorcycles make as compared with cars.
A recent consultation document contained recommendations to set tax bands in order to better reflect the environmental impact of motorcycles. This continued the theme, which began with the 1999 Budget, of encouraging motorists to use more environmentally friendly vehicles by offering fiscal incentives for them to choose smaller-engined vehicles, and those with low CO2 outputs.
In 2002 the Chancellor announced new VED rates for motorcycles which reflected the environmental impact of different types of machine relative to each other and relative to cars.
It also included a reduction in VED for all motorcycles over 150cc, or approximately 630,000 (66%) of a total fleet of 955,000 at the time it was introduced. The owners of machines, between 251-400cc, saw their VED reduce by £35 a year - nearly 54%.
This trend does has not been sustained in the latest budget.
The Advisory Group on Motorcycling (AGM), to which the Motorcycle Action Group was a major contributor, suggested that the Government should consider what fiscal mechanisms could be employed to encourage riders to take post-test training in order to cut the accident rate. It suggested an exemption from, or a reduction in, VED, for those who undertake post-test training.
Unfortunately this advice has not been acted upon.
I note with interest that Lembit Öpik MP (Montgomeryshire) has asked a Parliamentary question, on what plans you have to apply the one per cent, discount for environmentally friendly company cars to environmentally friendly motorcycles.
Yours sincerely
All replies received please copy to Trevor Baird MAG Public Affairs at MAG Office or email public-affairs@mag-uk.org
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