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4x4owners - epetition reply

15 March 2007

We received a petition asking:

"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to To stop the Harassment of 4x4 Owners & drivers."

Details of petition:

"(Everybody in the UK has the same rights and freedoms). This petition is in respect of the deliberate targeting of 4x4 owners by raising Tax and higher charges for parking. We feel that isolating 4x4 drivers is insighting hatered towards 4x4 owners/drivers. Closing off countryside routes where 4x4's can be used for which they are designed to be used. Everyone has a right to own a 4x4 and since when can the Goverment dictate what car we can drive as we live in a FREE COUNTRY."

Read the Government's response

The Government recognises the scale of the environmental challenge for transport and the urgent need for robust action. That is why the Government's strategy is to use tax and other measures to promote less polluting vehicles irrespective of type, whether a 4x4, luxury saloon, sports car or family hatchback. There is no intention to penalise people for choosing a particular body style or transmission type - it is the level of emissions that matters. We recognise that many people, particularly in rural areas, need to use 4x4 Wheel Drive vehicles, so by focusing on emissions we aim to encourage manufacturers to develop and market less polluting 4x4 vehicles while continuing to offer consumers a wide choice of vehicle.

It is precisely to tackle emissions from the most polluting cars that the Government has reformed car Vehicle Excise Duty The current graduated structure based on carbon dioxide emissions provides an incentive, on top of that already provided by fuel duty, to choose more environmentally friendly vehicles. Keepers of vehicles emitting least CO2 currently pay up to £185 a year less than those of vehicles emitting most CO2 under this system. This equates to a differential of over £2,000 over the typical lifetime of a vehicle, and is designed to encourage the purchase of cars with better fuel efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and also those using fuels and technologies that are better for local air quality.

The company car tax system has, since 2002, also been fuel-efficiency based. Under the system company car drivers can save thousands of pounds a year by choosing the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Our initial evaluation of the company car tax system suggests it has had a major impact on company car purchases, leading to significant reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases from the company car fleet.

We have also announced our intention to require all transport fuel suppliers to ensure that, by 2010, 5% of their total fuel sales comes from biofuels or some other renewable source. This will ensure a major market for biofuels in the UK, and, we believe, stimulate significant production in the UK.

Finally, the Government has recently underlined the environmental signals in VED through its support for the introduction of car fuel economy labelling to help consumers make fully informed choices. The labels are similar to those currently displayed on fridges and other white goods, and display a variety of information to car buyers, such as how fuel efficient a particular vehicle is, how much motorists can expect to pay in fuel bills, and whether it qualifies for a reduction in VED.