asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by Lord Bassam of Brighton on 24 October (WA 120), what technical obstacles remain to the implementation of a system of lorry road pricing in the United Kingdom. [HL180]

The then Secretary of State for Transport announced on 5 July 2005 that the specific procurement exercise for a lorry road-user charging scheme would not continue, but that the Government would continue to work with the industry to ensure that the full experience gained from the project would be carried into the wider work on road pricing for cars and lorries.

Further announcements were made on 10 May 2006 and 23 May 2007 about the demonstrations project which will test the reliability and accuracy of road pricing systems and technology and ensure that privacy would be safeguarded.

The Government have this week moved to the next stage in procuring these demonstrations of time-distance-place charging, by issuing an invitation to participate in competitive dialogue to a number of companies that have expressed interest, ahead of some being selected to take part in the demonstrations.