Legislation - Page 18

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Robert Goodwill MP, has announced a delay to the proposed Green Paper on young driver reforms which was due to be published before the Christmas recess.

Congested local roads, key points in the strategic road network and rail electrification schemes are set to benefit from funding, says the Department for Transport (DfT).

Fleets are expected to save millions of pounds thanks to a range of measures announced in the Autumn Statement.

The Government will drop one of the options for a new Lower Thames crossing and will carry out further work on the remaining two options, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has announced.

A Shropshire businessman, who supplies workplace vehicles and lifting equipment, has been fined for falsifying a safety document for a forklift truck.

A Blackburn skip hire firm and its owner have been ordered to pay £80,000 in fines and costs after a 21-year-old worker was crushed to death.

The planned fuel duty increase for September 2014, expected to be worth 1.61p per litre, will be cancelled.

The Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce in the Autumn Statement today (Thursday, December 5) that the tax disc will be scrapped.

The Government has decided against introducing road pricing to help pay for the planned A14 scheme between Cambridge and Huntingdon, construction of which is planned to start in 2016.

The EU has agreed a new compromise on cars and CO2 regulation after German pressure forced European environment ministers to scrap an agreement to introduce a cap of 95g/km from 2020.

Discussions are taking place between leasing company representatives and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that could trigger further reform of capital allowance rules in the light of proposed changes to international financial reporting standards.

A new agency with responsibility for maintaining vehicle standards has been launched today as the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

A wood recycling company has been sentenced for serious safety failings after a worker was killed after being struck by a loading vehicle and run over.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the DVLA are considering the future of the tax disc amid pressure for its abolition from organisations including ACFO and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA).

Businesses failing to correctly use their telematics systems to monitor – and act upon - drivers’ behaviour could be leaving themselves exposed to costly legal action in future.

Fleets may face delays to new vehicle deliveries because some leasing companies are not complying with revised regulations that allow cars and vans to be driven for up to 14 days without displaying a tax disc.

The Transport Select Committee is calling for written evidence on the measures set out by the Government to reduce the number and cost of whiplash claims.

Iain Larkins has founded the Radius Law firm to provide commercially relevant law advice.

European environment ministers have acceded to German pressure to scrap an agreement to cap CO2 emissions from new cars at 95g/km from 2020.

Businesses are being urged to attend a London seminar that could collectively net organisations hundreds of millions of pounds in wrongly paid National Insurance Contributions (NIC) on car allowances.

The public sector is being urged to use car clubs to help cut grey fleet mileage and stop some employees being paid more than £5 per mile to drive their own car.

Organisations that introduce a pool car scheme or give employees access to a car club have found they can wipe out a large slice of grey fleet mileage.

Fleet managers need to have split personalities when considering telematics.

New rules that came into force last week will eventually require thousands of companies to highlight their greenhouse gas emissions in their annual reports, including those from vehicles they ‘own or control’.

Employers are being urged to support a claim against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in a bid to reclaim wrongly-paid National Insurance Contributions (NIC) on car allowances.

Employees have been refusing to drive their own cars on business use at a Welsh county council after it withdrew its annual car allowance of £1,000 for grey fleet users.

Local authorities across England are being asked to cut unsightly yellow lines as part of a Government drive to rid the streets of clutter.

The Chancellor George Osborne told delegates at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester yesterday (September 30) that he intends to freeze fuel duty for the rest of the Parliament, up to May 2015, if the money could be found.

A new website has been launched for company car drivers to help them quickly communicate vehicle changes to HM Revenue & Customs after a series of damning reports into the department’s service levels for taxpayers.

Fleets are being warned again about an insurance scam that targets motorists dubbed ‘flash-for-cash’.

The news that motorists are paying more than £30 million a month in parking fines comes as no surprise to the Freight Transport Association (FTA) who has been working with its members to manage their Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs).

Company car drivers would face a tax hike while salary sacrifice schemes would be undermined if Liberal Democrat proposals are adopted.

New regulations that will require quoted companies to publish their greenhouse gas emissions could provide fresh impetus for fleet CO2 reductions, says GE Capital’s Fleet Services division.

The Government says it is happy for drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) to be reimbursed at the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate of 45 pence per mile (ppm). However, nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents to a Fleet News poll disagree, suggesting the level is flawed.

A reduction in the level of tax relief that can be claimed by leasing companies and fleets is fuelling a downward trend in emissions, figures suggest.

The brake has been applied to the decline in the number of company cars on Britain’s roads, according to latest statistics compiled by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The Freight Transport Association says new careless driving penalties need national guidelines to avoid ‘postcode lottery'.

Police given powers of on-the-spot penalties for careless driving including tailgating and poor lane discipline.

Almost a third of drivers are at risk of getting one of the new fixed penalty notices for careless driving, which come into force on Friday, August 16th, warns the AA.

Independent leasing and fleet management specialist, Venson Automotive Solutions, has launched a Fleet Tax Guide to help customers access up-to-date tax tables, calculate the tax on company cars and employer provided fuel, and provide easy to understand definitions to commonly used tax terms.