ACE makes recommendations to government on UK road funding

The UK Government must introduce dynamic road user charging in the UK over the long-term; with initial steps to be taken now and a suggested start date of 2030, according to a new report from ACE. Called ‘Funding roads for the future: Creating a more productive and sustainable road network in England’ it presented a series of recommendations on how to improve road network funding and how revenue from associated taxes can be sustained for future needs.

This inquiry stated that the growing uptake of zero-emission vehicles will create problems for funding roads as the revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty and Fuel Duty will continue to decline as a percentage of the UK’s GDP in the future. It also categorised funding for local roads as a struggling area due to the tight budgets of local authorities who often miss out on the investment required.

In addition, it highlighted that the government needs to look at new options to tackle congestion and to ensure that the road network is fit-for-purpose for the future with budgetary constraints.

Other proposals include reforming the Vehicle Excise Duty and Heavy Goods Vehicle Road User Levy to ensure these taxes raise sufficient revenue for the National Roads Fund from 2020-21. It specified that the government needs to increase the overall funding for local roads with a suggested Local Roads Fund, ringfenced through a proportion of revenue from Fuel Duty, as a medium-term solution. Additionally, A National Road Strategy outlining the overall approach of all funding programs for roads, including how investments could unlock productivity and achieve economic benefits. It also proposed replacing the Community Infrastructure levy (CIL) with a better designed Local Infrastructure Tariff, in line with CIL Review Group's recommendations.

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