What does George Osborne’s 2015-16 budget plan mean for most hauliers?

Here’s a quick summary of the budget plan for 2015-16 and what it could mean to you

Fuel Duty could be frozen again

George Osbourne promised to cancel the scheduled fuel duty increase which was planned for September and freeze fuel duty once more which is fantastic news for us all. However in typical politician style he fell short of promising that the current freeze would be maintained beyond the general election this May.

Government will look into funding support for the driver shortage

The RHA and the FTA along with numerous other organisations including us have been campaigning for the government to address the driver shortage issue for around a year now. Finally there is some sign that the government may be starting to take this issue seriously. In the chancellor of the exchequer’s budget report last week it was stated that the government intends to “work with road haulage firms on an industry led solution to the driver shortage”. However once again the government has stopped short of backing either of the solutions proposed to them.

Severn tolls to remain in place

Here’s one that you can guarantee the government will uphold after the general election this May. Originally the bridge tolls were supposed to be scrapped once the bridge came into public ownership in 2018 however the budget report confirmed that this will no longer be the case and that the government will continue charging tolls on this vital artery between England and Wales. To make matters worse the projected toll for HGV’s in 2018 will be in excess of £20 per crossing.