To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of new powers given to police in dealing with owners of foreign vehicles committing traffic offences in the UK. (105825)

None. Under the Road Safety Act 2006 which was given Royal Assent on 8 November the police will have new powers to require the payment of a deposit by a person they believe to have committed an offence in relation to a motor vehicle who does not provide a satisfactory address in the United Kingdom. The Act also makes provision for the police to prohibit the driving of a vehicle in respect of which a deposit was required and not paid, and in specified circumstances, to immobilise that vehicle.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals (a) to charge foreign hauliers for the use of UK roads an amount equivalent to the domestic vehicle duties paid by UK hauliers and (b) to pre-register foreign hauliers entering the UK. (106378)

I have been asked to reply.

We are taking forward plans for distance-based lorry charging as part of our wider work on national road pricing. Road pricing has the potential to reflect the wider costs that lorries impose in the UK, especially congestion costs.

The industry through their representatives at the Road Haulage Industry Task Group proposed the pre-registration of foreign hauliers entering the UK. The Government are currently considering the industry's proposals.