Highways Agency

Foreword

The Thames crossing between Dartford and Thurrock consists of two tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The first tunnel was built in 1963, the second in 1980 and the bridge was opened in 1991.

An early Private Finance Initiative (PFI) concession, enacted by the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988, transferred the existing debt from the tunnels to the private sector who would retain toll revenue to pay off the existing debt and the debt incurred by building the new bridge. Tolls were set by the Department of Transport (and its forerunners) in conjunction with the Concessionaire. The concession was for a period of 20 years from 31 July 1988, but could be ended as soon as the debt was repaid. The Secretary of State determined that all financial commitments had been met by 31 March 2002.

The Dartford-Thurrock Act 1988, Schedule 6, Section 16, (4) (1) contains the provision for a Toll Extension Period for the collection of tolls to provide a fund for future maintenance of the crossing. An Extension Agreement between the Concessionaire and the Secretary of State was in place from 4 March 1999 and allowed the Toll Extension Period to run from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003. All Toll Revenue during this period was passed over gross to the Department for Transport.

A charging scheme was introduced at the crossing from 1 April 2003. The powers to introduce a charging scheme on a trunk road bridge and tunnel of at least 600m are set out in Part III Chapter I of the Transport Act 2000 (Road User Charging). Sections 163 (Preliminary) and 167 (Trunk road charging schemes) and Schedule 12 (Road User Charging and Workplace Parking Levy: Financial Provisions) apply to charging schemes introduced on trunk roads.

• Schedule 12 paragraph 13 to the Act requires that the net proceeds of such a charging scheme should be applied for the purposes of directly or indirectly facilitating the achievement of any policies or proposals relating to transport but makes no prescription for how that will be achieved.
• Schedule 12 paragraph 2(2) allows the Secretary of State to make regulations determining how the net proceeds are to be calculated.
• Schedule 12 paragraph 5 allows regulations to be made for the keeping of accounts and the preparation and publication of statements of such accounts.

The effect of the regulations made under these provisions is to require an account to be produced to demonstrate the amount of the net proceeds.

The introduction of a charging scheme at the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing is enabled by the following secondary legislation:

• procedural regulations for the making of an order ¹;
• regulations covering accounting arrangements ²; and
• the making of a Dartford-Thurrock charging scheme order ³.

Cumulatively these enable the requirements of the Act to be translated into a charging scheme at the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing.

A contract with Le Crossing Company Limited has been in place to manage the crossing and collect charges on behalf of the Secretary of State since 1 April 2003. All cash receipts from Le Crossing are passed over gross to the Department for Transport. For the year ended 31 March 2005, this amounted to £68,082,508 (2003-04 £66,087,513).

The utilisation of the income for transport purposes is fulfilled through the Parliamentary Supply procedures: these ensure that the whole of the income is received and appropriated in aid and set against the Department's total transport expenditure. Apart from that income which is passed back to the Highways Agency to fund the maintenance of the crossings and the operations of the charging regime, all the other income offsets the generality of transport expenditure and is not hypothecated to particular programmes or projects.

Accounts of the Secretary of State

Section 3(1) (b) of the Trunk Road Charging Schemes (Bridges and Tunnels) (Keeping of Accounts) (England) Regulation 2003 requires the production of accounts for the year to 31 March 2005.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with a Direction given by HM Treasury in pursuance of the above regulation. The Direction is reproduced as an Appendix to the Accounts.

The accounts have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). His opinion is expressed on the page entitled 'The Certificate of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Houses of Parliament'.

Archie Robertson
Accounting Officer
19 January 2006

1. Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 2303 The Trunk Road Charging Schemes (Bridges and Tunnels) (England) Procedure Regulations 2001 back [1]
2. Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 298 The Trunk Road Charging Schemes (Bridges and Tunnels) (Keeping of Accounts) (England) Procedure Regulations 2003 back [2]
3. Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 1040 The A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Charging Scheme) Order 2002. back [3]

Back to Top