Just before Parliament rose for summer recess, Richard was the responding opposition minister that replied to a debate on motions to approve Ways and Means resolutions on the taxation of energy and vehicles, which included a 12-month HGV Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) holiday, along with an increase in the mileage allowance that can be claimed by drivers for the first 10,000 miles of their business mileage from 45p to 55p per mile, backdated to April 6th 2026.
Richard Fuller MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said:
Whilst any support for our beleaguered road haulage sector is to be welcomed, the 12-month HGV Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) holiday will probably have a limited impact, because it is just a one-year change and comes with a number of issues and uncertainties.
I raised some of these concerns with the Treasury Minister.
The holiday only runs for 12 months from 1st July 2026 to 30th June 2027. Vehicles taxed or renewed prior to 1 July 2026 do not qualify, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency confirmed that no retrospective refunds will be issued. Automated Direct Debit payments cannot be used while the temporary £1 rate is applied, forcing operators to alter their standard payment routines. The separate HGV Levy remains fully payable where applicable, confusing some operators who expected a full tax exemption. There was also a lack of clarity and trade bodies like the Road Haulage Association reported a significant number of operator inquiries because of governmental delays to official roll-out specifics and technical FAQs.
The Government also recently increased the mileage allowance that can be claimed by drivers for the first 10,000 miles of their business mileage from 45p to 55p per mile, backdated to April 6th 2026. The 45p rate hadn't changed for many years so my Party had no opposition to this move, however I did ask why the 25p per mile rate for mileage over the 10,000 threshold wasn't being looked at. Those with certain types of jobs or those in rural areas can easily exceed 10,000 miles per year so this is an area that should be addressed.
It's been 15 years since the rate was raised to 45p from 40p per mile so I asked the Minister whether the allowance should be index-linked going forward as it covers things like depreciation values of vehicles and not just the cost of petrol or diesel.
You can watch Richard's contribution at https://youtu.be/CVEJsG2CuUw?si=eOubEuaxaxyJ2vdo
Ways and Means resolutions are used by the House of Commons to give consent to parts of a Bill that will involve taxes or other charges being made on the public.
