United Kingdom

 

How the 2012 budget announcements affect business travel

Although there were surprisingly few references to transport in Osborne’s 2012 March UK budget announcement it still has a big impact on UK travel and business. Here are the main things you need to know for corporate travel management.

 

Air Passenger Duty WILL increase by 8%

From this April expect an 8% rise in APD and it will go up again in 2013. It means that four people travelling to North America from next month will pay £260 in aviation taxes alone – making the UK’s air passenger tax the highest in the world. APD will also be extended to business jets from April 2013.

 

No airport capacity for the south-east yet, but they’re still talking about it

The other big announcement was the Government’s decision to consult on increasing airport capacity in the south-east. The Government will publish a consultation this summer.

 

Trains set for further improvements

Network Rail will extend the Northern Hub – the rail network of the North. It is hoped that this will stimulate economic growth in the region. There is also to be a £130m investment to improve the links between Manchester and Sheffield, Rochdale, Halifax, Bradford, Bolton, Preston and Blackpool. The result could be an additional 700 new services a day once complete.

 

Mobile coverage to be improved for rail travellers?

It was buried deep in the budget but a development that could have a major impact on the UK’s business travellers was whether direct intervention is required to improve mobile coverage for rail passengers. Watch this space.

 

London underground extension

Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor are considering further investments to improve rail journeys, including longer trains and increased capacity at stations. On the Underground, extensions are planned with the Northern Line extension to Battersea is top of the list. Possible new river crossings in east London are also being considered.

 

Roads and fuel

The planned August fuel duty rise will still go ahead, increasing by 3.02p per litre.

To ease congestion on Britain’s roads the Government will explore how private sector funds could be used to pay for road maintenance, improvements and construction.

 

Company cars

Tax bands will be changed to promote the use of more environmentally-friendly company cars and the 3% ‘diesel penalty’ will be removed from company car tax from 2016/17.

Search