Grant Shapps today hailed plans to cut Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights – but hinted that foreign travel costs might have to rise as a result.
The Transport Secretary said the current system where return journeys within the UK could face a higher levy than trips abroad was ‘bizarre’.
In a round of broadcast interviews, he insisted the proposed overhaul would make sure people were not ‘penalised’ when traveling within the UK.
But he added that APD would not ‘collect any less’ tax overall – suggesting other aspects will need to rise to offset any reduction.
The comments came after Boris Johnson said he wanted to ‘build back better’ from the coronavirus crisis in a way that brings ‘every corner of the UK closer together’.
A consultation is being launched this spring on reforming air passenger duty – a tax on passenger flights from UK airports – in a bid to improve transport connecting all four nations.
Grant Shapps said the current system where return journeys within the UK can face a higher levy than trips abroad was ‘bizarre’
In a round of broadcast interviews, Mr Shapps insisted the proposed overhaul would make sure people were not ‘penalised’ when traveling within the UK
The Government will also commit £20million to develop plans for upgraded rail, road, sea and air links – and explore new requirements to offset emissions and decarbonise aviation.
The money will be spent on exploring the development of projects including improved rail connectivity between the north coast of Wales and England; upgrading the A75 between Gretna, Dumfries and Stranraer; faster rail links from England to Scotland and rail improvements in south-east Wales.
Speaking about the APD reform, Mr Shapps told Sky news: ‘What this is about today… is this bizarre situation where you pay less tax if you are flying to say London to Barcelona than you do if you are flying London to Edinburgh and back.
‘Which is a somewhat bizarre situation. So what we have said today is we will carry out a consultation, we will look at how we can do this more fairly, and we will ensure that people are not penalised effectively for travelling within the UK, which is what we are talking about here – as opposed to paying less when you travel abroad and come home, which does seem like it’s the wrong way round.’
He added: ‘We will make sure overall it doesn’t collect any less tax, the system overall.’
The move has been welcomed by the aviation industry.
But the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said that cutting domestic flight duty ‘flies in the face of the Government’s climate commitments’.
General secretary Manuel Cortes urged the Government to invest in ‘truly green public transport’, such as rail, which is the ‘most effective intercity connection taking people to the heart of our towns and cities’.
It comes as an interim report by Network Rail boss Sir Peter Hendy, who is conducting a review of union connectivity, was published assessing ways transport can better connect all parts of the UK.
The report set out how a UK Strategic Transport Network would deliver the ambition – upgrading direct transport links, reducing delays and stimulating growth across the four nations.
In the report, Sir Peter said he has asked two experts to lead a ‘discrete piece of work’ to assess the feasibility of a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.
Former HS2 Ltd chairman Douglas Oakervee and Gordon Masterton have been tasked with leading the technical review into such a link, with the PM in the past repeatedly suggesting the idea of a connecting bridge.
Mr Johnson said: ‘It’s now time to build back better in a way which brings every corner of the UK closer together.
‘We will harness the incredible power of infrastructure to level up parts of our country that have too long been left off the transport map.
‘This pioneering review by Sir Peter Hendy gives us the tools we need to deliver on our ambitions for a UK-wide transport network that encompasses sea, rail, and road – and I also want to cut passenger duty on domestic flights so we can support connectivity across the country.’
The Prime Minister is set to launch a consultation this spring on reforming the tax – on all passenger flights from UK airports
He is set to announce a new £20million infrastructure fund. The money will be on top of the £10billion sidelined for the ‘Boris Burrow’ – an ambitious undersea tunnel connecting Larne in Northern Ireland to Stranraer in Scotland (pictured: A map showing the proposed link)
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said the UK had suffered by not having a UK-wide transport strategy, and had instead lost out by leaving it to the EU under its TransEuropean Transport Network.
‘The result is that the sinews of pan-UK transport have atrophied, with inadequate connections, needless bottlenecks and endless delays on the vital links between one part of the UK and another,’ Mr Johnson said.
He added: ‘It’s currently quicker to get a train from Cardiff to Paris than from Cardiff to Edinburgh. With some bypasses, better track and signalling, as Sir Peter believes, we could run services from Glasgow to London in about three hours, and carry more freight too.
Sir Peter said: ‘Devolution has been good for transport but it has also led to a lack of attention to connectivity between the four nations, due to competing priorities and complex funding.
‘A UK Strategic Transport Network could resolve this, with its core objective centred around levelling up across the whole of the UK.’