Chris Thomas

Isn't this the quote from schedule 1 which is relevant to motorcycles: "Category A, A1 and P The rate of vehicle duty chargeable for a Category A, A1 and P vehicle is £28" Please email highways to confirm if you think I am wrong. Thanks so much for your attention and appreciate proof-reading and feedback.

Thanks for comment and question. I have to say yes now, as I am moving order. But Government and Tynwald have been shying away from fundamental review of vehicle duty for a few years and this review would cover this sort of question. I am hoping that reform is initiated with approval of the forthcoming vehicle duty order with effect from 1/4/2023 and then there will be further engagement about further reform will a call for evidence about the proposal for duty from 1/4/2024.

Isle of Man Ferry Terminal contract is NEC4 pain and gain contract. Turner and Townsend have been project managers for over 5 years. There are defects, warranties and penalties arrangements in highways contracts. Detailed investigation of Liverpool project was published end 2021 with DoI providing further information in public at beginning of 2022. Public Accounts Committee continues its investigation. It was due to finish in January 2023 but Mr Speaker announced recently that reporting was delayed. I approve of that delay as parliamentary investigations might not be appropriate alongside the concluding months in a live project.

Thanks for explanation. You are right. That is how project managers work for and in government.

Thanks for excellent feedback and suggestion. More untaxed vehicles are being taken off the roads now compared to previously.

How much did it cost then? Seemed a good job.

If you want you can look at the revenue and capital scheme accounts for recent years and make up your own mind. All the information is public. There are rolling and discrete capital schemes, and highways division expenditure includes design, network management, enforcement, quarrying for highways materials, licensing, footpaths etc..

What is your definition of a vanity project? These gates were fabricated and installed in-house. I believe the job was determined as necessary several years ago, and certainly did not involve political sign-off. The gates are needed in law, and are helpful for other activities. How much would you expect galvanised gates to cost i.e. is £3000 more than your estimate?

Please report untaxed vehicles on the app. Not being taxed is one factor in determining the abandonment of a vehicle since law changes introduced relatively recently.

There are legal complications with direct debit. For instance no SORN here and interaction with insurers is slightly different I think. Work in progress alongisde system development.

DoI and Post Office have been trying to do that for a couple of years, but Government has not approved funds for project as yet. I am hoping it will shortly.

You did not ask about fuel duty. Both it and vehicle duty are actually general revenue items for Treasury. Two things not quite right with Mr Peters' figures are that capital road schemes wil be larger than the figure cited here and roads maintenance is only part of what is spent on highways division as there is much more to highways expenditure than just the item spent on contractors for highways maintenance. I will discuss further with DoI motorist champion.

Government Technology Services has been working on introducing direct debits for vehicle duty since November 2022. There are other issues that need to be addressed alongside system development. Rates and tax direct debits are quite expensive to administer, and are not really up to date. Doesn't Treasury collect rates for commissioners (except Onchan and Braddan) and that system is manual and uses three dedicated officers?

You are right - higher costs increase inflation. The vehicle duty increases were included in DoI budgetary estimates from 1/4/2023 as all other budget items, although they are subject to separate vote in Tynwald in March as required by law.

Government press release did not lie. It was clear and correct. By far the majority of vehicle licences have risen by 10%; but some have risen by less (for instance DLA licences remain free), and around 10,000 people who licenced vehicles last year will pay more than 10% more than last year if they re-register for 12 months this year (with the highest being electric vehicle owners who have an infinite increase from £0).

You will have to provide the evidence. I think motorcycles are increased to £28. I will apologise if I am wrong of course.

You are right that the 2021 vehicle duty order was withdrawn so vehicle duty has not increased since 2020. Differently from across, more is spent on highways each year than is raised with vehicle duty when revenue and capital schemes are combined. Tynwald is being asked to approve increases in vehicle duty in March Tynwald. The order will have been registered in public for six weeks before that debate and vote.

The cost of administering 6 month vehicle duty is more than £6. Government reduced the premium to this figure from what DoI requested for providing 6 month payment option.

I don't believe anyone has lied to me. FoI responses are made without informing Minister or departmental members but we now get list from time to time of previous FoI responses after I requested that. Our only DoI FoI officer did inform me a little while ago that potentially there were a couple of issues with Information Commissioner. I have asked for a short briefing about this case.

Assumption and vitriol in one comment! DoI's 2021 intention was responding to a longstanding demand which was a different to the one you have. This was for "six-monthly payments with a 10 per cent premium for those whose car tax comes to more than £200 per year", citing Manx Radio report of the time. What you want is a direct debit or payment plan approach. That is under development given some legal, financial and practical issues.

The 6 month duty option is aimed at enabling registering for 6 months. It is not aimed to provide credit or a payment plan, although two 6 month duties can be combined for 12 months of duty. We have discussed briefly some of the issues with our intended introduction of direct debits.

That’s been public since 2017. See https://www.three.fm/news/isle-of-man-news/doi-puts-liverpool-ferry-terminal-design-out-for-tender/ Turner and Townsend

Direct debits are not in place although there is an intention to introduce them. You are right that they are a credit arrangement. It costs everyone staff and other resources to administer direct debit systems.

How much 6 month vehicle duty costs depends on level and type of take up. It might well reduce vehicle duty revenue by many hundreds of thousands as you suggest, probably more than the annual cost to duty of increasing registration of lower emissions, smaller and electric vehicles. Direct debit systems currently operated in Treasury are also relatively expensive to run.

What I wrote is factual. Quarries produce material for highways and other things. People and vehicles need licences for driving. Vehicle Duty goes to general revenue. Highways Division budget, which is around the same amount as vehicle duty, includes those elements, plus some other items. A large element of highways expenditure is funded from capital rather than revenue because it is investment rather than maintenance.