Reaction over border tax plan
TORY MPS WRITE TO LONDON MAYOR TO PROTEST OVER POSSIBLE NEW CHARGE
MORE than 20 Conservative MPs have signed an open letter to London Mayor Sadiq Khan over his “deeply damaging” London border tax plans .
According to the letter, the proposed tax on motorists entering London will have a “deeply damaging” impact on families and businesses.
Drivers could be charged £5.50 for entering Greater London to push Transport for London’s finances back into the black.
The MPs say that some families, who drive to places on London’s borders before parking their cars and using public transport to continue their journey, will have to pay an extra £1,000 a year.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is seeking a £3 billion bailout from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to avoid public transport in the capital grinding to a halt next year, amid ongoing concerns relating to the coronavirus.
As a compromise, TfL is pledging to cut costs, including a small reduction in bus services, to find new ways to raise money.
An estimated 1.3 million weekday journeys are made from outside the capital into London.
The ‘Greater London boundary charge’ would be paid by drivers of vehicles registered outside London boroughs.
This fee would be in addition to the £15 congestion charge and £12.50 ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), expanding to more suburbs in October 2021.
The charge would be set at £3.50 a day and increasing to £5.50 for the most polluting vehicles.
The letter suggests that the proposed tax would have “far-reaching impacts on family life because relatives will be faced with an additional cost for travelling to visit one another”.
MPs also said the charges could impact people who rely on key workers.
“Charging teachers, nurses, police officers etc. is not the right thing to do,” the letter read.
It continued: “Under your leadership, TfL’s debt has risen, projects have been delayed, and income has been thrown away on your pet projects.
“It is unacceptable that you would now look to recover the funding gap by introducing a damaging border tax on families and businesses surrounding London, who are not your constituents and therefore not able to hold you to account at the ballot box.
“We urge you to drop this latest threat, which has unsettled our constituents who hope to use the month and years ahead to rebuild their family and business finances after the pandemic and encourage you to work constructively with the Government on a funding settlement that works for both Londoners and UK taxpayers.” A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has repeatedly urged the Government to allow London to retain the £500m of Vehicle Excise Duty paid by Londoners every year but which is currently spent almost exclusively on maintaining roads outside the capital.
“If the Government do not agree, other ways of raising money to overcome the unprecedented financial challenges TfL faces as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic may be needed.
“A Greater London Boundary Charge for non-residents could reduce congestion and emissions whilst encouraging more use of public transport.
“Revenues could also provide funding for investment in London’s transport network.
“Subject to the findings of TfL’s feasibility study, already underway, any proposals developed as a result would be subject to a full public consultation where the public – including non-Londoners – would be able to have their say on any potential proposals.”
A VACCINATION site that was due to open in Hammersmith this week has been delayed by a fortnight due to a shortage in supply of jabs.
The news will add to concern about the coronavirus vaccination roll-out in Hammersmith and elsewhere in the capital after the local MP, Andy Slaughter, warned that existing sites in the borough were operating significantly under capacity – between two and five days a week.
Elsewhere there have been reports of vaccine centres closing early due to a lack of demand.
On Monday February 8, The Times newspaper also reported that the John Scott vaccination centre in Hackney closed early on three days last week due to a lack of take-up among residents.
The latest data from NHS England shows London is lagging behind the rest of the country in terms of the percentage of those aged over 80 who have received their first dose.
As of January 31, 74.9% of over-80s had received their first dose of the vaccine in London, compared with 88.1 per cent for England as a whole and 92.8 per cent for South West England, the best performing region.
Mr Slaughter told MyLondon: “The NHS is doing a brilliant job on vaccination.
“The contrast with the £22 billion privatised Track & Trace operation couldn’t be more stark.
“But we could go faster if there was more supply.
“Existing vaccine centres are often open less than half the week and opening major centres have been delayed, including Hammersmith’s.
“This is not just a London problem, but it is particularly worrying in London where vaccination of the very elderly is running at least 10% behind the rest of the country.
“We need more vaccine but we also need more targeting of vulnerable and hard-to-reach people and those with concerns about vaccination.”
Last week vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi repeated in the House of Commons that the “limiting factor” in the rollout was vaccine supply.
He also told Sky News last week: “Vaccine manufacture remains challenging, any manufacturing process has challenges.
“But as Patrick Vallance said, there’s never been a vaccine manufacturing process of a new vaccine without its challenges, but we see better stability now and greater volumes, but they will move around.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Health and Social care said the government remained on track to meet its target of offering a vaccine to all those in the top four priority groups by February 15.
NHS London has been approached for comment.