My Lords, this clause creates fee-charging powers for administering a permit scheme, which, understandably, is a key concern for the UK haulage industry. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, for giving us the opportunity to discuss the issue in detail.
The regulations under this Bill will apply to all the permit schemes that the UK has. Once we have introduced a robust legal framework for permit schemes it would be both necessary and sensible for the regulations to cover all schemes. They would therefore apply to potential permit arrangements for EU member states, existing and future permit arrangements with non-EU countries, and ECMT permits. This means that fees for permits for different countries can be consistent and consolidated in a single set of regulations.
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The Community licence that is used for road haulage in the EU is an entitlement of all international operator’s licence holders. It can be obtained from the DVSA free of charge. However, this service is not offered free of charge: the costs of administering and issuing Community licences are covered by the fees for the operator’s licence. I acknowledge that UK hauliers are not necessarily aware of this, so the cost will be an issue for them. It is a straightforward single document that authorises haulage across the EU for a period of five years. However, if permits are used rather than the option of the Community licence regime, this will be administered separately from the operator licensing regime.
Without specific fees for each permit, the cost of administering the scheme is covered by all hauliers or by the taxpayer, depending on how it is charged. We believe that it is preferable that the costs of a permit scheme are met by those who are using it. The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, made a valid point on the differential in charges. Obviously, UK hauliers would need to pay for a permit only to travel into the EU. In the same way, EU hauliers would need to pay for a permit to travel into the UK. That is where the balance is. UK hauliers who will be making solely domestic use of their trucks would not be paying the fee. However, I will take that away and look at it in more detail. In the past, Parliament has granted similar powers to this one for the charging of fees. For example, Section 56 of the Finance Act 1973 allows for fees to be charged for services or issuing documents for any international agreement. Fees are already charged for permits under the existing permit schemes using this section. We are seeking to extend this principle to all permits issued under this Bill.
Our aim is to minimise the costs created for industry as a result of any new permit scheme and to operate it purely on a cost-recovery basis, with no profit. Current
permit fees are broadly set to operate on cost recovery. We intend to charge fees for permits that may be required for EU countries in the same way as we do for non-EU countries—on a cost-recovery basis. Not to do so would create an inconsistency that would be difficult to justify: it would mean charging fees for some permits and not others, and we would not be able to recover the costs of administering the scheme and it would therefore fall to the taxpayer.
The Government believe that it is better for fees to be made under Clause 5 instead of making new fees using Section 56 of the Finance Act 1973. There is some uncertainty about the extent of the power to charge fees under Section 56 and, in particular, whether that section would enable us to charge fees for applications to recover the costs of processing those applications. We would be looking to charge for both the application and the issuing of the permit.