22 January 2008
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Cancel the Humber Bridge debt and reduce tolls."
Details of petition:
"The Humber Bridge has the highest toll charges in Britain (currently £2.70 for a single car crossing). This not only creates hardship for individuals; particularly those who have no choice but to use the bridge for commuting and hospital visits. It also holds the Humber region back economically. Much of the current tolls are used to pay back the artificially high government loans provided over 25 years ago to build the bridge. The government has the power to write off this debt. This would enable the Bridge Board to keep tolls at a fair level, based on maintenance and running costs."
Read the Government’s response
The Humber Bridge was promoted as a local road by the local authorities of Humberside. Therefore, the Humber Bridge is the responsibility of the relevant local authorities, rather than central Government. The management and running of the Bridge is by the Humber Bridge Board, which is made up of the local authorities who promoted the project.
The local authorities of Humberside financed the Bridge with Government loans. The Humber Bridge Board charges tolls to pay this debt. Without income from tolls ultimately the debt would have to be paid for by the taxpayers of Humberside as set out in legislation.
In recent years, the Government has done a great deal to assist with the finances of the Humber Bridge. It has written off and suspended a substantial amount of the Humber Bridge debt so relieving the local taxpayers of Humberside of a cumbersome burden of debt. However, the Government does not think it necessary or practical to write off all debt at the Humber Bridge. To do so would result in an extremely heavy cost to the public purse.
The Government continues to ensure that the debt remains manageable. Most recently, the Humber Bridge Board approached the Department for Transport in 2006 advising that the debt owed by the Bridge Board to the Secretary if State would become unmanageable at the present interest rate from 2007-08.
On 19 June 2007, Government set a new interest rate on the debt, decreasing it from 7.75% (payable on part of the debt) to 4.25% (payable on the whole debt). This covers the five-year period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2011, after which the rate will be reviewed. The net result is that the Humber Bridge Board will pay £16.6m less interest over the 5 years.
This money is available to the Humber Bridge Board to repay capital and establish a maintenance fund. By reducing the interest rate on the loan in this way, the Humber Bridge Board should be able to service the debt without the need to levy a precept (increase council tax) on the local taxpayers of Humberside.
Your petition mentioned the use of the Bridge to access services. The Government responded to an earlier petition about the use of the Humber Bridge for access to medical treatment. The response can be viewed at: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page11281.asp. It is also attached for ease of reference.
The Humber Bridge Board has 22 members. They were appointed by and represent the local Authorities on each side of the River Humber: Kingston Upon Hull City Council; East Riding of Yorkshire Council; North Lincolnshire Council; and Lincolnshire County Council. The Board can be contacted via their website: http://www.humberbridge.co.uk