The government have implemented that there will be no further grants for any new cameras, under the Labour government we saw a massive increase in cameras which generated £110m for the government each year.

The new Transport Minister Mike Penning has advised that he would like to other forms of effective safety measures, rather than more speed cameras he stated ” If local authorities want new cameras they are free to do so using their own resources.” he further added “The public must be confident speed cameras are there for road safety- not as a cash cow under this Government it will not be so.”

A spokesperson for the road safety charity Brake claimed that the organisation would attempt to secure a u-turn saying “It is terrifying that Government ministers responsible for road safety are so set against speed cameras that have been proven to save lives.”

This is a quick precis of the budget and what will effect business:-

Main Budget Proposals

The Entrepreneurs’ Relief limit will be doubled to £2 million for disposals on or after 6 April 2010. Gains qualifying for the relief are charged at an effective capital gains tax rate of 10%

Most businesses are able to  claim an Annual Investment Allowance on the first £50,000 spent on plant and machinery. This provides immediate 100% tax relief on qualifying expenditure. The allowance is to increase to £100000 from April 2010.

Close companies broadly family and owner managed companies will no longer be able to obtain corporation tax relief on the write off of loans to a participator (generally a shareholder)

Inheritance tax nil rate band is currently £325000 and this band will be frozen until 2014/15

SDLT relief is introduced for first time home buyers but will be paid for by increasing SDLT on homes above £1million

Previous announcements

Some of the changes detailed int his summary have been the subject of earlier announcements. Here is a reminder of some of the more important ones:

the small companies rate is currently 21% and an increase to 22% is planned to take effect from 1 April 2011.

introduction of a 50% top rate of tax for those with income over £150000 and the phased reduction of personal allowances fro those with incomes over £100,000

removal of higher rate relief for pension contributions from 6 April 2011 for those with high income.

24 March

BVRLA chief executive John Lewis had this to say about Chancellor Alistair Darling’s 2010 Budget:

“This was more of a pre-election statement than a Budget and there was precious little for road users to get encouraged about.”

“By doing nothing to reduce grey-fleet-encouraging AMAPs rates or the 3% diesel surcharge, the government has yet again failed to remedy the inequalities in its emissions-reduction strategy. However, we do applaud the fact that the Treasury has finally made existing tax incentives technology neutral.”

On specific Budget measures:

Fuel Duty:

“Staggering the 3p increase in fuel duty will give road users some respite. In reality, they are still applying the thumbscrews, just a little more slowly.”

Ultra-low carbon car tax:

“The Chancellor’s decision to halve company car tax for ultra-low carbon cars is a nice gesture that probably should have been made in the Pre-Budget Report. This is definitely an incentive for the future – company car drivers will struggle to find a suitable ultra-low carbon car at the moment.”

Reduced Pollution Certificates:

“It is great to offer an annual £500 VED rebate for operators buying Euro VI compliant vehicles, but where are people supposed to buy them? This is another green incentive that is great in theory but will make little or no difference for businesses any time soon.”

Road maintenance:

“According to the Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey, local authorities already have an £800m shortfall in road maintenance budgets so handing them an extra £100m is not going to go far.”

Funding:

“The Chancellor highlighted the fact that interest rates remain at ultra-low levels, but he didn’t admit that lending rates have soared.

“We hope that the new Credit Adjudication Service will have a remit to help small businesses negotiate fair borrowing rates from their banks.”

“The vehicle rental and leasing industry has been exploring non-bank finance opportunities for some time and we hope that the government’s promise to help businesses find more diverse sources of funding will help.”

Despite a clampdown the number of drivers using their mobile phones at the wheel has doubled over the last two years, it is thought that about one million drivers across Britain regularly flout the law and continue to use their phones illegally, this has been based on a London study there were 33 sites set up to monitor the usage and this showed that 2.8 % of car drivers were spotted on their phones and this was an increase 1.4% from 2007.

Further the percentages for van driver rose from 1.4% to 4.5% and for cab drivers a rise from 0.7% to 1.6% this report was carried out by the Transport Research Laboratory shows.

The penalty for getting caught is 3 points, a £60 fine and court charges may be applied, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents described the rise as “extremely disappointing” and the AA stated “There has been a 20% reduction in traffic policing in recent years. A lot of drivers think motoring law is something you don’t get caught breaking”

In the 2009 budget the chancellor announced the introduction of an additional tier of Road Fund Licence (RFL) applied when a car is first registered. Often referred to as “showroom tax” the size of the additional levy depends on the CO2 emissions of the car. This new tax will apply to all vehicles registered on or after March 1st 2010. Please be aware that these changes will only apply to cars. 

The new rates of RFL will be loaded into Ultinet on 11th January 2010.

The RFL rates effective 1st March 2010 are as follows:

Quotations run prior to 11th January 2010:

• Vehicles quoted before 11th January 2010 and registered before March 1st 2010 are unaffected.
• Vehicles quoted before 11th January 2010 and registered after March 1st 2010, will have a discrepancy between the quoted vehicle cost and the suppliers invoice. Network will pay the suppliers invoices in those cases where the RFL levied is higher than that quoted.
• Vehicles quoted before 11th January 2010 and registered after March 1st 2010, will have a discrepancy between the quoted vehicle cost and the suppliers invoice. Network will not allow franchisees to claim any reduction in RFL (Groups B – D) by submission of capital balance claims or any other means

Quotations run after 11th January 2010

• Vehicles quoted after 11th January 2010 but delivered before March 1st 2010 will have a discrepancy between the quoted vehicle cost and the suppliers invoice. Network will pay the suppliers invoices in those cases where the RFL levied is higher than that quoted.
• Vehicles quoted after 11th January 2010 but delivered before March 1st 2010 will have a discrepancy between the quoted vehicle cost and the suppliers invoice. Network will not allow franchisees to claim any reduction in RFL (Groups B – D) by submission of capital balance claims or any other means 

A review into the existing drink- and drug-driving laws has been announced, looking into whether there is a need to lower the drink-drive limit and introduce new anti-drug-driving legislation. Sir Peter North has been appointed by the secretary of state for transport Lord Adonis to examine the issues, reporting back in March 2010.

The Government is examining ways to meet its long-term casualty reduction targets, and said 430 road deaths last year can be connected to alcohol. The review will examine whether a reduced limit would have an impact, or whether to add a new lower limit with graduated penalties. The drug-driving element will examine the need to introduce legislation making it an offence to drive with a named substance in the body. “We want to make sure the road safety strategy is robust enough to meet the tough challenges in casualty reduction,” said the parliamentary under-secretary of state for transport Paul Clark, speaking at the annual Institute of Advanced Motorist lunch earlier this month. “I aim to crack down on irresponsible road users, cut road casualties by a third by 2020 and clamp down on that minority that cause a disproportionate number of accidents.”

By Tristan Young http://www.businesscar.co.uk/

Fleets could have to train their drivers to two sets of speed limits and make sure their health and safety code covers two different drink-drive limits, if Scotland takes up proposed new powers under devolution.

Scotland could set different national speed limits and drink-drive limits under proposals from Westminster for devolution. The changes were expected following the Calman Commission’s review of devolution, which Labour promised to respond to the report.

Scottish secretary Jim Murphy is expected to outline which of the reports’ suggestions would be taken up, later today.

The London Mayor, Boris Johnson, last week announced a raft of changes to the capital’s congestion charge scheme:

• increasing the daily charge by £1
• introduction of an automated payment account system, provisionally entitled CC Auto Pay
• removal of the £1 fleet discount so that fleet operators will pay the same per vehicle as customers using CC Auto Pay (£1)
• removal of the western extension of the congestion charging zone.

The BVRLA expressed dismay at the latest increase in the congestion charge. Chief executive John Lewis said: “Yet again, we have clear evidence that private road users are being charged for the cost overruns created by inefficient public transport planning. This time it has created a £1.7bn ‘black hole’ in Transport for London’s budget. With the London congestion charge doubling in less than seven years, is it any wonder that similar schemes are being soundly rejected up and down the country?”

The association was more favourable about the decision to abolish the western extension, but it expressed concern that any benefits provided by the introduction of a new automated payment system might be outweighed by the registration costs, which are yet to be published. The association believes it is therefore too soon to say whether members will benefit from the new system.

The BVRLA will work with Transport for London (TfL) to see whether the CC Auto Pay system can provide notification on a real-time basis, rather than weekly, which would be especially useful for rental companies.

The mayor also published a draft strategy setting out his vision for transport in London over the next 20 years. For road transport this is predominantly focused on the take up and infrastructure required for low-carbon vehicles. The BVRLA previously commented on a working version of the strategy and called for the mayor to recognise the vital role car rental plays as part of the transport solution.