Ending the sale of new petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars and vans by 2035 or earlier would not only be unfeasible but seriously economically damaging, particularly at a time when the economy is struggling to recover from the Coronavirus lockdown. The original date of 2040 is already a very tough ask”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).
The Supreme Court unanimously decided in favour that ATMs at existing shops should not be subject to separate business rates assessment on 20 May. “We are delighted that the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of retailers, meaning that they will now be rightly owed around £500 million in business rates refunds,” said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).
Tomorrow, Matthew Taylor, the interim director of the Office for Labour Market Enforcement (OLME) will call for tighter regulations on the UK’s hand car washes, by introducing a national licensing scheme in order to combat the prevalence of human trafficking, poor working conditions and environmental concerns, amongst other issues.
Senior sources have confirmed that the Government would announce the 2ppl fuel duty cut later this year – the first reduction of the motoring tax in eight years. “The PRA has welcomed hints carried by national media that the Treasury may be considering fuel duty cuts in the upcoming Autumn Budget”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).
“The PRA is pleased to see that forecourt crime is now back on the police’s agenda, following a productive meeting with chief constable Simon Cole of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC)”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA).
“The PRA is disappointed to see that the Supreme Court has agreed to allow the government’s Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the right of appeal against last year’s defeat in the long-running dispute with major supermarkets over business rates and ATMs.”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA). In November 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled that ATMs located both inside and outside of stores should not be assessed for additional business rates on top of the normal store rates costs, retailers are already facing. The VOA appealed on the grounds that ATMs facing outward shouldn’t be exempt, and should count towards overall business rates, making the bills higher.
Brian Madderson, chairman of the Car Wash Association (CWA), welcomed the latest report from the Clewer Initiative, the anti-slavery arm of the Church of England, which showed nearly 1000 reports of potential human trafficking made via their mobile app.
“The CWA is disappointed to see that the Government has produced so little evidence to back up its claims that HMRC is enforcing tax compliance at hand car washes”, said Brian Madderson, chairman of the Car Wash Association (CWA), commenting on the publication of the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit select committee report into the hand car wash sector.
The Petrol Retailers’ Association (PRA) is seeking urgent confirmation from the Treasury that petrol filling stations (PFS) will be eligible for small business rates relief announced in the Budget. This request comes after some confusion in the 2013 Budget, when the Treasury did not specifically include PFS as one of the eligible business categories. The PRA had to intervene to obtain formal confirmation that, subject to State Aid de minimis limits and the rates threshold, the discount scheme was applicable.
The Car Wash Association has welcomed the launch of the Responsible Car Wash Scheme. The scheme “should prove valuable for improving compliance in existing hand car washes,” comments Brian Madderson, chairman of the CWA.
There are now an estimated twelve to fifteen thousand hand car washes in the UK. The Car Wash Association states that more than ninety per cent are unregulated. “It is extraordinary that we are virtually the only EU country where illegal hand car washing has proliferated over the last ten years to the extent seen across the UK. This must result from the failure of key agencies to enforce their own regulations”, said Car Wash Association chairman, Brian Madderson, giving evidence in Parliament recently.
The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) is calling for government to offer grants to retailers for investment into charging infrastructure, following news that the Automated and Electric Vehicles (A&EV) Bill has passed its third reading in the House of Commons.
The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) has warned independent forecourt operators, that a fall in the strength of sterling could potentially see petrol back to 130ppl in the spring.
Drivers of diesel engine cars are likely to face a hike in fuel price, according to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA). Chairman Brian Madderson states that the association “has been informed by a well-placed parliamentary source, that the Chancellor is likely to announce a 1ppl increase to fuel duty for all diesel drivers in this week’s Autumn Budget. This would be a thinly disguised tax grab using air quality issues as justification.”
