Motorhomes and Vehicle Excise Duty

Debate between Ruth Jones and Emma Hardy

Tuesday 21st January 2020 Westminster Hall

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered motorhomes and vehicle excise duty.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Sir David. It is good to see you in the Chair for this debate, because I know that this is an issue that you have raised at the highest levels of Government and that you take it very seriously indeed. As you cannot contribute to the debate this afternoon, I will speak for both of us in saying that this issue is serious and real, and that we will keep raising it until the Government take the necessary action. We are not prepared to let the motorhome industry collapse because of Government miscalculation.

I thank the National Caravan Council for bringing this matter to the attention of Parliament, and I am very grateful to have secured this important debate today. The impact of vehicle excise duty on motorhomes and campervans is a niche topic but an important one. The industry and many motorhome users are calling for motorhomes to be removed from the car vehicle excise duty regime, and for motorhomes to be taxed as private light goods vehicles or private heavy goods vehicles, until they can be added to the forthcoming graduated vehicle excise duty regime for commercial vans, from which they are originally derived.

The calls for action are more obvious than many may think. After all, a motorhome is not a car, as motorhomes are designed to perform a function other than general transport of people or goods. They are derived from the chassis of a heavy commercial vehicle, such as a van or a truck, and they have large engines, so motorhomes should not be taxed as cars, when they are clearly not built to be cars or used as such.

So I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise this issue today and it is good that the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Mr Clarke), is here to listen to the arguments, understand the concerns and—hopefully—update the House on what measures the Treasury will take to ensure that this anomaly can be addressed and solved at the earliest opportunity that the Government can find.

To be clear, I am calling for a fair approach when it comes to the taxation of motorhomes and campervans. This is a cross-party call for action, both politically and geographically.

[Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)]

In my area, Swift Caravans has already announced redundancies and I am aware that other companies are currently consulting on making more people redundant. There is huge cross-party support on this issue, as shown by the event that we held in October, the joint letter that we sent to the Minister and the event that we will hold in February. Given that cross-party support and the impact on the industry, does my hon. Friend agree that the Government need to take action now?

[Ruth Jones]

Obviously I agree, and I thank my hon. Friend for intervening to make a powerful point. Yes, there is cross-party support, and she has highlighted both what has been done so far and what we will do in the future. I know that many right hon. and hon. Members who could not be here in Westminster Hall today also support this call for action.

The vehicle excise duty payable for new-generation motorhomes and campervans first registered after 1 September 2019 increased from £265 per year, going up to £2,135 in the first year; it will then be £465 a year for the next five years. That is a huge increase in costs for those people who choose to buy a motorhome and who enjoy using it, and I hope that the Government will reflect on the impact of this massive rise.

The increase in the level of taxation has been applied to all motorhome vehicles, including those fitted with new-generation greener and more energy-efficient engines. If the Government are serious about their climate change targets, why are they not treating light commercial vehicles as cars for the purposes of taxation? Instead of generating an additional £28 million—approximately—from the relatively small number of new-generation motorhomes, they could generate almost £700 million from vans alone.

Let me be clear that that projected £28 million will be raised only if motorhomes continue to sell at rates similar to those in the past. However, I have been informed by the industry that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy) has already mentioned, registration rates are declining rapidly because of this tax.