Dartford River Crossing Tolls

I have given way to the hon. Gentleman already, and I would like to make some progress. We have heard about the lack of ring-fenced funding and the fact that the £1.75 million that had been ring-fenced for certain areas is now to be spread across the country. The Government therefore cannot even argue that that money is being spent to encourage people to use other forms of local transport, which is an argument that has been used in support of other such schemes. Instead of guaranteed funding for local roads and infrastructure, we have a discount scheme that appears to be limited to a small group of people, potentially living up to 20 km away from the bridge. The scheme relates to specific vehicles, meaning that someone with two cars has to pay two registration fees, and its take-up to date appears to have been limited. I say to the Minister that that does not look like much of a concession—it looks more like some sort of con. We must also consider the impact of the increased charge on small businesses, which are struggling in these increasingly challenging economic times. An Essex-based courier company that I spoke to estimated that the additional charges at the crossing could cost it as much as an extra £5,000 a year. Surely this time of economic downturn and local businesses struggling to keep their heads above water is absolutely the worst time for the Government to give them a further slap in the face by increasing the costs. In a letter to me of 27 November, the Minister wrote:"““In the longer term we expect demand for the Crossing to continue to grow. The Department for Transport is therefore commissioning a study to look at options for addressing traffic issues in the future. It is due to report around the turn of the year.””" As we are fast approaching the turn of the year, will the Minister provide an update on the nature and progress of that study and tell us what is its brief, who is conducting it, who is giving evidence to it and when it will be published? The Minister will be aware of current discussions about the long-term future. Essex and Kent county councils have been working on the potential impacts and economic advantages that additional capacity could unlock for the people of those counties, particularly in the context of the Thames Gateway, in which I know he has taken a close interest. Will he commit to work closely with Essex and Kent county councils on the future of the existing river crossing, as well as on considering where any new crossing might be located? If the Minister is not prepared to remove the toll and believes that some form of charge should be retained, can he confirm that he is prepared to investigate removing the toll booth plaza and introducing a system similar to the one used to enforce the congestion charge zone in central London, with overhead automatic number plate recognition cameras, thus removing the need for vehicles to stop at payment booths and wait for the barrier to rise? Another question is what other plans the Government might have to realise even more funds from motorists using the crossing. In the recent pre-Budget report, details were provided of the working of the operational efficiency programme. It was stated that it would be"““widening the scope of the study of capacity requirements at the Dartford Crossing to include the potential to realise value for the taxpayers””." Can the Minister confirm what was meant by that statement, as it gives the unfortunate impression that the Government see the crossing as a cash cow to generate even more revenue for the Exchequer? In conclusion, Jon Holmes writing in The Sunday Times summed up the current mood well:"““Even the three billy goats gruff didn't have this sort of hassle when they wanted to get to the other side of their river. Granted, they had to deal with a troll, but he wasn't demanding £1.50 every time. In fact, when he tried it on once too often, he got butted firmly into the river. Think on that, Dartford Crossing authorities.””" I hope that the Minister will think on that and give hard-pressed motorists, shoppers and small businesses an early Christmas present by scrapping the toll increase and by going back to the drawing board on the charging arrangements at the Dartford river crossing.