The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has called on the government to introduce dynamic road charging in the UK by 2030.

The ACE report, called ‘Funding Roads for the Future’, warned that because of the complexity involved in introducing the scheme, the government needs to start thinking about this now.

ACE called for the government must introduce reforms to Vehicle Excise Duty and Heavy Goods Vehicle Road User Levy to ensure these taxes raise sufficient revenue for the National Roads Fund from 2020-21. VED will have to be reformed with the expected growth of zero-emissions vehicles in the next 10 years.

The Association also wants reforms to HGV Road User Levy to remove offsets against Vehicle Excise Duty for UK-registered vehicles and introduce a dynamic per-distance charge (with a range of variables) instead of the current per-day charge.

“The establishment of a Local Roads Fund, ring-fenced through a proportion of revenue from Fuel Duty, would be a medium-term solution to improving the quality of local roads in England.”

In addition, it said: “The Government should develop a National Roads Strategy outlining the overall approach of all funding programmes for roads, including how investments can unlock productivity and achieve broader economic benefits.